Dare to Be Colorful!

This blog is written by Lee Gale Gruen to help Baby Boomers, seniors, and those soon to retire find joy, excitement, and satisfaction in life after retirement. Her public lectures on this subject are titled, “Reinventing Yourself in Your Retirement Years”. Her memoir, available at Amazon.com, is: Adventures with Dad: A Father and Daughter’s Journey Through a Senior Acting Class. Click this link for her website:   http://AdventuresWithDadTheBook.com

Now, on to my blog:

As you can see in this photograph, Gate Huck knows how to swath herself in color. Some don’t. Have you ever noticed people who dress only in neutral or drab colors: blacks, whites, grays, beiges, browns, pale blues? Or, maybe you dress that way.

I’ve always wondered if those people feel they don’t deserve to shine. Maybe they don’t want to attract attention to themselves. Their color palettes often match their personalities.

In physics, color is a function of a specific wavelength of visible light. Black and white are not considered colors since they do not have specific wavelengths. White is made up of all wavelengths of visible light, and black is the absence of visible light.

We use the word color to denote a certain lightheartedness such as colorful jokes which are risqué, daring, and fun. We describe something as being off-color if it is somewhat offensive. I’ve heard it said that color makes a statement, whereas lack of color only makes a suggestion.

There is a medical condition occurring mostly in the winter called seasonal affective disorder (SAD) where low light causes depression in those who suffer from it. One of the treatments is exposure to light boxes, which are small walls of light.

Color and light are uplifting, perky, jazzy, exciting. Color can be visual, auditory, emotional, and more. Some people dream in color.

A neurological phenomenon called synesthesia is where stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway creates automatic, involuntary experiences in a second such pathway. So, synesthetes (people with this ability) may feel, hear, or taste color, and it may aid their creative process. Artists such as Franz Liszt, Vincent Van Gogh, and Leonard Bernstein were synesthetes.

If your comfort zone won’t allow you to dress colorfully, at least bring color into your life in other ways: flowers (not just white ones), colorful paintings, tropical fish, etc. Dare to lighten up; dare to brighten up; dare to make a statement.  Maybe color will aid your creative process or at least bring some cheer into your life, and one additional perk: it’s free!

Please forward my blog to anyone who might be interested and post it on your Facebook, Twitter and other social media. To reprint any material, contact me for permission at: gowergulch@yahoo.com. If you want to be automatically notified when I post a new blog, click on the “Follow” button in the upper right corner of this page and fill in the information. To read my other blog posts, scroll down on this page or click on “Recent Posts” or “Archives” under the Follow button. To opt out of receiving this blog, just reply to sender, let me know, and I’ll remove you from the list.

Participate in Stimulating Experiences

This blog is written by Lee Gale Gruen to help Baby Boomers, seniors, and those soon to retire find joy, excitement, and satisfaction in life after retirement. Her public lectures on this subject are titled, “Reinventing Yourself in Your Retirement Years”. Her memoir, available at Amazon.com, is: Adventures with Dad: A Father and Daughter’s Journey Through a Senior Acting Class. Click this link for her website: http://AdventuresWithDadTheBook.com

CHITCHAT:  I’m playing a grandmother (wearing oversize glasses) in yet another music video (I’ve been in a few lately) titled “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” by singers Meghan Trainor and John Legend. Click this link to view it:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-MBfn8XjIU

Now, on to my blog:

There are many ways to bring joy, excitement, and satisfaction into your life.  One thing I try to do is grab opportunities to be involved in stimulating experiences.

Here I am a week ago (July 4, 2015), helping to build a fireworks show. Since 2005 (I can’t believe it’s been ten years), I’ve been volunteering with a fireworks crew to set up the show on the golf course of the Big Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach, California.

In the photo, you can see the tubes sticking out of the scaffolding we built to hold them. We’ve just finished loading the fireworks charges inside the tubes and wiring them electrically. Notice the small black posts on the center strip running the length of the scaffolding. That is where we hooked up the ends of the electric wires protruding from the fireworks charges. An electric cord at the end of the strip is then plugged into a battery operated motherboard which is used to control the firing of the charges. That was a long explanation for something that might seem mundane or unimportant to some. To me and maybe a few of you, however, it is fascinating.

A few years ago, I worked the motherboard during the fireworks show. That was a real high! Think of the Wizard of Oz sitting at his control board in total charge of a display that captivated the enraptured attention of others.

The day of the fireworks shows, I leave my house at 8:00am and get home after 1:00am the following morning. It’s hard work all day for no pay. What is your reward? you might ask.  Answer: a good physical workout, stimulation in areas that excite me, a fun day at a gorgeous location, camaraderie with the other crew members, chow on hand the entire day, a fantastic seat for the fireworks show, and a satisfying sense of accomplishment.

Repayment doesn’t always have to be monetary. Sometimes, it’s worth doing a thing just for the pleasure of doing it. Find those kinds of opportunities for yourself.  Live your life for the sheer joy of it.

Please forward my blog to anyone who might be interested and post it on your Facebook, Twitter and other social media. To reprint any material, contact me for permission at: gowergulch@yahoo.com. If you want to be automatically notified when I post a new blog, click on the “Follow” button in the upper right corner of this page and fill in the information. To read my other blog posts, scroll down on this page or click on “Recent Posts” or “Archives” under the Follow button. To opt out of receiving this blog, just reply to sender, let me know, and I’ll remove you from the list.