Colourful Impressions

I'm currently walking through the plains of Spain known as the maseta. Virtually no shade and few villages interrupt the seemingly endless, flat wheat fields stretching out on either side of the trail. 

I find it mesmerizing and thrilling to walk through it. Step by step, just me and my thoughts. I've chosen to walk alone at this point to give my mind the freedom to explore whatever it needs to. I can't imagine anything I'd rather be doing than just this. 

I am enthralled by the splashes of red,purple,yellow,white and pink wildflowers growing randomly alongside my path. And I am stunned by the countless shades of green in the fields beyond them. It has occurred to me that the infinite variety of colours and how they contrast each other is what attracts me. If all the vegetation were just one or two shades, i'd find the scenery less engaging. 

Fine artists are familiar with a "colour wheel", where strongly contrasting colours are represented opposite each other on a circular chart. Impressionist painters like Monet and The Group of Seven used this knowledge to bring life and vibrancy to their masterpieces. These artists intentionally placed opposite colours from the colour chart directly beside each other to create masterful effects. 

Perhaps life is like that:  it is more beautiful and energizing when we intermix the colourful influences of a variety of people, places and experiences. If all I surround myself with is limited to familiar faces and routines, it would be like living in a monochrome world. My life would be simple and manageable, but the intriguing contrasts and unexpected complexities would not be available to stimulate my senses and stretch my mind. 

I love my beautiful home, but I think perhaps my world is more vibrant and energizing when I make a conscious effort to introduce new colours, textures and flavours into it. Inglewood has been comfortable and my cottage has been restorative, but there is more. I am excited to return to my world and welcome new colour into it. I have lots of time as i wander across this beautiful countryside to explore how that will look for me. But I am sure that a bouquet of spanish wildflowers will colour my heart forever. 

I am excited for tomorrow:  to begin my walk at sunrise, my senses awakened by the chill in the frosty, still morning air, prepared to listen, see, hear, smell and feel all the wonders around me. I will fall into the rhythm of my body and i will watch where my mind goes for seven solid hours of solitude. The weight of yesterday and tomorrow won't distract me; I have prepared space in my consciousness only for today. How sweet is that.