White

White

• Purity
• Cleanness
• Clarity
• Hygiene
• Sterility
• Simplicity
• Sophistication
• Efficiency

I woke up this morning to snow—in March. It was so beautiful! When I went for my walk, I was amazed at how much a dusting of snow gives definition to the landscape. Rather than a mass of branches, I could see each individual twig, every flower. Every groove and tractor track in the field showed up as the white blanket cast shadows that brown never can.Daffodils drooped under their little white night caps.

The whiteness and the hush always amazes me. Even though the road was clear, and the cars rumble along, still… It’s as if the world pauses for a moment to just breathe.

I watch my busy life as I rush to get things done and I realize how much I am missing. Yesterday I was too busy to feed my soul. By the end of the day, I just felt awful. Today I chose to take the time and just walk and look and listen.

I feel much calmer. Things are more in perspective. I still get caught up in negative thinking, but I catch it earlier. And I’m realizing how poisonous it is, how different I feel when I focus on color and light and joy and laughter. And new fallen snow.

Pink

Pink

• Physical tranquility
• Nurturance
• Warmth
• Femininity
• Love

I’m a tomboy, so pink is not the first thing I pick up. But this morning the daphne bloomed, with its delicate pink flowers and heavenly scent. Now that’s a pink I can appreciate.

Pink is nurturance and warmth. I tend to just see the caricature of pink—the brassy pinks, the gaudy pinks. But becoming a mother, I’ve learned pink’s richness and its depth. There is nothing in the world like holding a baby in your arms and rocking her to sleep. In nurturing this child, I nurture myself. I find wells of gentleness and quiet I didn’t know I had.

As the years have passed, I realize that I tend to get busy and occupied with the world. I pass by those nurturing moments without really noticing. It takes care and attention to stop and cherish those experiences, to allow that nurturing warmth to feed our souls and cheer our hearts. And when I do, I see more deeply the richness of my life that is always there.

Red

Red

• Stimulation
• Masculinity
• Excitement
• “Fight” or “Flight”

Red, the physical color. The color of the heart and body. I don’t see much red around me right now—it’s still late winter/early spring. Too early for the tulips.

But the last week or so, I’ve been focusing on my heart. Clearing out the cobwebs, clarifying issues, speaking truths that need to be spoken. And I feel my heart becoming lighter, clearer, strong and beautiful.

Red is also the body and I’ve been working on exercise. I can tell the difference when I miss a few days. Here again, it’s the heart—getting my blood pumping, fresh air in my lungs. And I feel my muscles getting stronger. The more I exercise, the more I enjoy it and the more active I become. What seemed like hard work is now easy and I’m ready for the next challenge.

Red is excitement and stimulation. Coming out of winter, I’ve been rather subdued, but I can see that red energy coming. It’s a different energy from the creativity of yellow. Red is the buzz of a country fair, a swashbuckling pirate movie, rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes. The thrill of a roller coaster.

Red is strawberries, tomatoes, cherries and apples. If you try to eat them out of season, they are bland and tasteless. But in their right time, they explode with flavor. There’s nothing quite like that first really ripe strawberry of early summer.

Feeding my soul

It’s March. Tomorrow the Fast starts. I realized this morning that I tend to think more about food during the Fast than at any other time. I feel like I need to make a sturdy breakfast in the morning and make sure I have solid dinner at sunset.

But the whole point of the Fast is to focus on my spiritual development, to nourish my soul. So I decided this year I’m going to put my energy into feeding my soul first and let the food take care of itself.

So what feeds my soul?

• Being out in nature
• Music
• Sewing something beautiful
• Color
• Sunshine
• Gardening
• Being of service
• Connecting to Baha’u’llah
• Singing
• Loving
• Bringing joy and hope to people’s hearts
• Encouraging the people around me

I’ll bet you could live forever on food like that!