I could take today’s gratitude challenge literally or metaphorically. Let’s dive in,

Color in our real world enriches our lives beyond measure. I sometimes try to image what it would be like to be colorblind, as my dear friend Bill is. And then I think that this is his reality, so how does one miss what one has never known?

I remember seeing a movie with Val Kilmer as a blind man who regains his sight. It was eye opening as it allowed me to see that it would be frightening, even confusing if I were to suddenly be exposed to a new reality I’d never known. Even if that reality had been touted as marvelous all my life. To me it would be foreign, as it was to Val’s character. His first vision was overwhelming. He had no frame of reference to make sense of any of the objects before him.

What does an apple really look like? And red?? What is that? How does it color the apple, define the apple. And how is it that some apples are not red? Such a learning curve, even for an adult.

Color, wonderful color. There is such nuance and variety. So much to discover, even as an elder adult. I am still amazed at the incredible array of color. Simply indescribable, even for those of us who hone our craft daily in verbal description. How do you describe the color of your grandchild’s eyes? How diminished a life without sight?

Perhaps the blind would rebel against this idea of living a diminished life. They, after all, do not miss what they have not experience and indeed have honed their other senses to a level they would probably describe as something we sighted might miss. How diminished are our lives because we rely so heavily on vision? How much nuance do we miss in smells and textures?

As a sighted woman, I can only share my experience of the sighted colorful world. My eyes have enriched my experience of this life beyond measure. I am so grateful for the miracle of sight–and color.

Reality is bejeweled with such wonder, so many shade of color. The cornucopia of sights and experience fill my days with unimagined richness—unless and until I decide to strive for mindfulness. To focus on where I am, when I am and what is right before me. Decide to share what you see with another. Really look at what you see and describe it. Now you are entering the world of the author. How do I express the delicate pink flush of a young girl’s cheeks or the depth and clarity of love in the glistening brown eyes of my dog?

A challenge? You bet.

As for metaphorical color–yes, betrayal has and does color my memories of the past. My past is now tainted with the reality that I was being betrayed most of my marriage. I fight everyday to wipe as much of that smudge of darkness from my mind’s screen as I can. I do that by focusing on my truth, my realty– I remind myself that my UH’s choices and actions in no way diminish all that I gave and all the love I put into my family. Really, the tainting would be his–he was distracted by the fantasy and the hiding—disengaging his ability to be fully present and connect to his family, to me and the kids. His life was tainted by him.

SO remember to choose you. Choose your truth and what you did—what you gave and how you loved. That is not colored at all, except to say it was colored in love.

Go there. Do that. Share it with another, or keep it to yourself, but dig in and describe the amazing technicolor of your world. Brilliant and muted. Soft and bright. Exquisite. Enriching. The stuff of explosive joy and gratitude.