Color Memories
Discover your own colors.
There’s something about the end of summer that begs me to hang on. I actually think it’s the memories of summer that I’m hanging on to so they don’t fade away when hints of autumn begin to emerge. Or maybe it’s because I instinctively know the rains are coming, so colors will soon fade.
Some of the colors that made a big impression on me this summer were bright and energetic. Holding on to these color memories for a little longer helps me to hold some extra space in my heart for how they made me feel. These are some of my favorites.
Yellow is friendly. During my visits to the sunflower fields I noticed that some of the blooms were starting to lose their seeds. The shapes that appeared caught my attention. So I took the liberty and carved out a face in this sunflower, hoping that the next person would be greeted by this friendly visitor in yellow.
Orange is warm and reminds me of the record high temps we had in Oregon this summer. The record high of 116 degrees was something I have never experienced as a native Oregonian. To try and beat the heat I headed to the forest.
Green is energetic. The trails at Hoyt Arboretum have been a nice respite during the pandemic and a wonderful place to explore. I usually get lost somewhere on the Wildwood Trail but it felt energizing to be there during the heat.
Red and purple are synonymous with mouth-watering fruit… just waiting to be consumed! One of my favorite recipes is a peach and berry cobbler. Cobblers were always a family favorite because they’re so easy to make, with just a few ingredients. But vegan ice cream sandwiches with homemade Snicker-Doodles was totally my favorite dessert this summer!
Nature offers optimism. In spite of the many catastrophic outcomes related to pandemic, I feel grateful for what we have access to here in the US, specifically for access to vaccines. In the 1930s, my Mom missed most of her second and third grade because she had to be quarantined for diseases when there were no vaccines available back then. This meant my Mom wasn’t able to learn to read. These circumstances greatly affected the trajectory of her life and many of her relationships. So it’s both science and nature that bring feelings of optimism for me.
Walk through a field of flowers and you’ll experience a sense of optimism. This reminds me of the energy put forth by film actor, Austyn Tester, who stars in the movie “Jawline” on Hulu. Tester exudes with optimism EVERYDAY, in spite of the many circumstances that try to corral him within a small town in Tennessee. Optimism is a powerful force that the actor wields left and right in spite of so many barriers that he’s faced with. I feel assured that his optimism will take him many places.
Drop me a line if you’d like to start a conversation.
~ Linda
“If you’ve got a dream you gotta protect it and chase it!”
- Austyn Tester, Film Actor
