Add a little color – and a little joy
I had the good fortune to spend a week in Mexico City in late February. The city was surprisingly green, full of unique neighborhoods, and overflowing with art, culture, history and delicious food. The city was also awash in color, from my pilgrimage to artist Frida Kahlo’s blue house (picture below), to pastel buildings and murals outdoors and in, to the museum of popular/folk art, to street markets and artisan markets (also pictured below).
In February, I also started to read “Joyful” by Ingrid Fetell Lee. This passage on page 29 spoke to me:
“I’d spent time in parts of the world where vibrancy was natural and effortless: Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean. These colorful places exude a warmth and vitality that’s absent from most modern American cities, where the greatest source of color seems to be signs and advertisements… It would be easy to conclude that it’s a simple matter of preference: certain cultures have developed an appetite for color, while others prefer a grayscale life. But I think the real answer lies in a cultural bias deep in Western society that runs toward sophistication, away from joy.”
Wow. How often do we put on personas of sophistication or professionalism instead of being authentic and joyful? I know I’m guilty of wearing a lot of black and beige clothing!
I also know how color affects my mood and that light, bright places make me happy. And I’ve been thinking about how I often hold myself back – with decor or dress – in the name of “good taste.”
I’d rather be joyful.
So when I got back from Mexico, I displayed my colorful treasures where I would see them every day. I thought about how I could introduce more color into my home. And I bought a pair of navy polka dot linen pants for this summer.
Where do you make your life a little smaller in order to appear sophisticated, instead of being as colorful, loud, authentic or happy as you could be?
Here’s to more color and more joy!
p.s., I’d love to hear how you’ll add color or joy to your life – or maybe where you hold yourself back – on this post at https://www.facebook.com/jenfrankcoaching.