Color Walk

Walks are kinda lame. But I went on a color walk anyway to answer some questions to maybe inspire you to try the same. It was not bad (except for the walking part)

Awareness

The first colors I noticed were the various greens in the trees and surrounding vegetation. Even though I only live thirty minutes from campus, I do not get to visit home often due to my many jobs in Seguin. The last time I was home and truly took it in, the season was winter, and the vegetation was still lifeless. So as I walked the life of everything really spoke to me. There was no haze of seasonal depression or gloom.

I also noticed the redness of the wooden fences and the white on the cobblestone walls that lined the street. In my neighborhood of Forest Ridge, these are our white picket fences. Everyone has them, and the Homeowners Association ensures they are kept clean. These same cobblestone walls outline our whole neighborhood. Gated communities are like euphemisms for prison, except the prisoners are kept on the outside. I did not choose to live here, but it is home. 

Revealing

The colors that reveal themselves are the multiple different colored houses. At first, I am sure you assume that in a gated community, every home is the same. I can tell you it is quite the contrary. They are your traditional American houses, just noticeably bigger. They are wooden frames decorated with colored bricks on the outside. Some are pink, others are red, some are white, then there are brown ones and even a few black ones (which are pretty controversial with the homeowners association).

The other color that I never paid attention to was the blue within the swimming pool. It's your standard community pool, but I never paid much attention to it. I love the ocean and prefer to swim in saltwater or freshwater pools over chlorine. But reminiscing and focusing on the color made me remember the fantastic times I had at the beach with my family. Sometimes I would just sit and stand in the middle of the water letting the "spirits" guide me. 

Observe

I did not expect to observe and notice the vegetation. This is so odd to say because my neighborhood is about one-third forest. We even have a walking path that leads right into the woods. Here you see many native species of plants, such as live oaks and pecan trees. As well as Invasive species, such as Magnolias and Japanese blossom trees, which are scattered around. They started off as decorations but soon became much more.

They have migrated and moved to the walking paths. They add hints of white and pink within a thicket of viridian green and tree bark brown. It's beautiful and attracts bees, butterflies, and deer. Now we see the yellow, black, and brown of the lovely bumblebees. Then I see the white and brown of the deers and doe. Lastly, I notice the orange, blue, and black from the floating butterflies. They are scattered around as if they were a painting that came to life. I was not expecting this hidden world right behind my fence. 

Relationships

This brings us to our next topic, color relationships. The Earthy tones of the bricks on the houses really help highlight the nature around them. After all, we are called "forest ridge," so it only makes sense that we have colors and tones that pair well while representing the Earth. If our neighborhood houses were painted like Mexican-American houses found in California, we would have some issues. Our homes can not be vibrant and stand out for fear they will overshadow the forest. 

All the colors, in a way, "live" in harmony. It is to keep up appearances that our subdivision is "perfect". It does not have to be. It just has to imitate and practice being perfect. Everyone wants to live here because of its status, reclusiveness, and balance. That is why the color relationships are more important here than, say, the city. No one expects the city colors to blend and work together. But in a community such as a neighborhood, to show how we work together, we put up how our colors and vibrance are together and bonded.

Changing 

To me, every color changes over time. I think this is true for everyone. At first, the world can seem gray or bleak. As you continue on, you notice colors. That is the change. I would never have seen the blue in the flapping wings of the butterflies if I did not look up on my walk. Every aspect of life is constantly changing and becoming new. Tomorrow I could go on the same walk and notice the black and green of a slinking caterpillar. Here in this world, changing is the same as revealing. The world is constantly evolving and revealing itself to us, so we can appreciate it in fullness if we only look up.