Color My World With Joy

Using Color to Boost My Mood

I’m a fan of bright colors. My wardrobe is mostly jewel tones, and neutral colored shorts and slacks that will go with almost any of my brightly colored blouses. I tend to dress to reflect my mood, with the chakra colors as my guide. Strangely, I have less blue (throat chakra) than any other color in my wardrobe, save yellow (solar plexis chakra) which makes me look jaundiced. As one who uses her voice a lot, I realize it’s rather odd, at least until I remember why I choose a color on a given day.

For reasons I won’t get into now, my clothes are on a free-standing rack in an otherwise seldom-used bedroom that once belonged to my daughter Heather. Gym clothes are on the right with shorts on the very end. Shorts I wear for dancing and when I want to look a tad less casual are on the far left with slacks and jeans to their right. The rest of the rack is taken up with my brilliantly colored blouses in sections by color family.

When I walk into the room in the morning, my first thought is what color do I feel like today? Knowing at least part of my day will be devoted to writing or something writing-related, I do a check to see where I’m feeling I need a little extra help. For example:

• If my creativity is feeling sluggish, I’ll choose orange for the Sacral Chakra
• If I’m feeling tired or low energy, I’ll choose green for the Heart Chakra
• If I’m feeling low on intuition, I’ll choose purple for the Third Eye Chakra

Showing Up in Whatever Color Feels Right

I’m not entirely sure how this practice started, but as the color I choose usually gives me the desired results, I’m not about to question it now! There are even days I’ll choose something quiet and dull (though it’s somewhat hard to find in my wardrobe. The best I can usually do is a more pastel shade, or an animal print in browns and blacks). Those are days I feel like blending in with the world a little bit; not calling too much attention to myself even if I’m spending the whole day at home.

In truth, I do put in an appearance, even on those days by doing a live video on Facebook. I began them at the beginning of my “retreat” when COVID started its inevitable trek through my part of the world, and I chose to isolate a bit earlier than recommended. I thought it would inspire me to take better care of myself for however long it lasted, and in fact, it has.

Though I have only worn makeup once since the middle of March, the videos make me clean up, get dressed, and show up every day. Maybe I only show up in workout clothes with my hair pulled up in a scrunchie, but I’m dressed, I’m wearing a bra, I have pants on, I’ve brushed my teeth and taken my supplements, my face is clean, and my hair is brushed.

The Colors You Choose Change With Your Attitude

In my many iterations, and attempts at self-employment in the past which until recently mostly allowed me to sink further into depression while continuing to deny it, I always lacked a morning ritual, other than getting the girls out of the house and to school. To be honest, I couldn’t bring myself to care about much more, and after dropping the girls off, I was lucky if I started my day by 11:00.

My wardrobe is a reflection on how much I’ve changed. I have no real reason to get up and get moving except a strong desire to get my writing out there, and attract clients I’ll love working with. My only solid responsibilities are to myself and my cats nowadays. But now is when I’ve created morning rituals which typically take me from 8AM when I get up until nearly noon by the time I complete them all. The difference is I’ve learned to love myself and my life, no matter what twists and turns it takes.

I no longer hide behind baggy clothes and dull colors because I’m happy to show up and be seen. I do things to inspire myself, and share them on the off chance they’ll resonate with one of my friends—and more often than not, they do! I’ve learned to recognize the things I do out of habit as part of my productivity for the day, and to give myself credit for keeping those habits alive. I even take pleasure in feeding my body a healthy diet, and tracking what I eat so I can make improvements.

Self-Care Means Caring Enough to Create Healthy Habits

I can look back now and see how easy it was to form healthy habits when I learned to care about me, and how impossible it was in the years when I not only didn’t care, but was on a steady path to self-destruction. Not that I drank or did drugs or took any of the typical destructive paths. My “drug of choice” if you will was neglect.

I slept poorly, took little care with my appearance, kept people at arm’s length, and ate whatever was easy to grab. Microwave meals and pints of Haagen Dazs were my staples, and the only exercise I got was dancing. My muscles were soft and covered with flab. And of course, the rattier I looked, and the higher my clothes sizes went, the worse I felt, and the more I neglected myself, thus perpetuating my decline.

In hindsight, it was the dancing that saved me, along with my writing. I had to have clothes that were comfortable to dance in, and for some reason, even then, I gravitated towards the fuschias, emeralds, and crimsons despite my lousy self-image. In many ways, I made myself stand out long before I was ready, somehow knowing I had to call my own attention to myself before I’d start making changes.

Starting With Whatever Lifts Your Spirits Naturally

Dancing was my sanity and my escape when my daughters were young, but it was a place to belong, even from the sidelines when they got older and more independent. As sad as I’ve been, I’ve always loved to dance. There’s something about the energy that flows in a room full of people dancing. Though I didn’t really know what it was like to belong, I felt like I did when I walked through those double-doors and took my place on the neon-lit dance floor. For a little while, I was part of something, though it took me a few more years and hundreds of thousands of words to figure out how to be more than an extra in the production.

Wearing bright colors are the outer expression of my authentic self, but to truly belong, I had to learn to let people see the imperfections I’d grown up believing needed to be kept under tight wraps. Only when I opened up and let people see that I was broken, bruised, and battered just like they were did I truly take my place in a community that’s become much more than life-support to me through both good times and bad.

Grateful for Everything, Large and Small

My gratitudes today are:

1. I’m grateful for my tendency to gravitate to brighter colors.
2. I’m grateful for the people who taught me how to live, love, and laugh while being my true self and not some cobbled together image of false perfection.
3. I’m grateful for dancing which helped me hold it together when nothing else did.
4. I’m grateful for my membership in a strong, supportive, authentic community.
5. I’m grateful for abundance; love, friendship, joy, dancing, community, support, compassion, kindness, healthy habits, peace, harmony, balance, health, philanthropy, and prosperity.

Love and Light

 

About the Author

Sheri Conaway is a Holistic Ghostwriter, and an advocate for cats and mental health. Sheri believes in the Laws of Attraction, but only if you are a participant rather than just an observer. Her mission is to Make Vulnerable Beautiful and help entrepreneurs touch the souls of their readers and clients so they can increase their impact and their income.

If you’d like to have her write for you, please visit her Hire Me page for more information. You can also find her on Facebook Sheri Levenstein-Conaway Author or in her new group, Putting Your Whole Heart Forward