Colorama & Forgetting the Self
Hello Reader
I’m back in eastern Washington, but will regale us with some last pics from my recent sojourn in Palm Desert in southern California.
As we change the clocks this weekend, and look toward the shift in seasons, let’s re-open our eyes to color, in all its grand and subtle variation.
Cheers,
Jennifer
Founder, Ordinary Nature
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Weekly Reflection 🌅✨
- Weekly Practice 🌺✨
- Little Tender Things 🐢💚
WEEKLY REFLECTION
Colorama & Forgetting the Self
Jennifer Ruth Keller
The thing I may love most about the desert is how it surprises me, every time, with color. Our connotation of the desert can often be that desert environments offer only a drab palette of beige and sand hues. But at certain times of year, or with slower, curious attention, a bonanza of color can stun the mind and refresh the eye.
We happened to catch the foothills around Palm Desert at the height of lush growth, the contours of the abrupt slopes covered in a bright green, fur-like covering. The overlay of native grasses and shrubs, their verdant glow, pop against the dirt below and the blue sky above.
At sunrise, and early evening dusk, the colors of the desert arrest the eye, make my body turn, again and again, to peer closer at a magenta, tissue-thin petal, or a yellow bloom burst on an emerald-leafed bush. A hummingbird hovers by a grapefruit tree; blossom aroma rides the slight puff of breeze.
The light during these transition times of the day is so forgiving, even the ocotillo spikes invite me in, make me forget who I am, and why I’m there. No point becomes the point, when we release the habits of our mind through nature attention.
How might nature invite you in, to forget yourself, even for a few moments?
WEEKLY PRACTICE INVITATION
The what: Colorama exploration!
Which means: As we transition from winter into spring (or, if you are in the southern hemisphere, summer into fall) go on a stroll and allow your path to be guided by color.
What hue surprises your eye? Calls you to notice? Draws your body toward it, maybe even your heart?
Then: Consider making a “seasonal palette” across the next month. Rather than typical journal “entries” or “calendar milestones” you can create a color wheel, or spiral, by adding new color as you encounter them in your local environment.
Bonus Fun: If/as spring blossoms become abundant, might you be able to make your own pigment for your color wheel/palette? And/or dry samples to make a color album?
LITTLE TENDER THINGS
Tortoise friend,
your neck stretches,
mouth opens,
and pink tongue
tests the air,
gropes the leaf,
draws it in.
Munch.
Crunch.
For the video version of tortoise tongue delight click here.
