Friday Feelings - Colour My Emotions 🎨

Hello Internet!

Well, well, well guys - hasn't it been a minute and a half?! It feels like an absolute eternity since I last posted on here, and turns out - it's been 11 days! 😲😲😲 Time flies am I right?

Anyway, it's been an insane couple of weeks in my world and it is only now that I am finally finding a little bit of time to process where I am at with everything right now.

So as you would all know by now, whenever I need to process something I sit down and write y'all a something. I hope you don't mind 😋

But I had a thought the other day. Instead of simply sitting down and spewing a bunch of random paragraphs that don't really tell you much about how I deal with stuff, I wanted to do something more abstract and thematic.

This time at least, I wanted to give what I am saying more of a meaning for anyone who reads it than just another girl adding her 2 cents to the web.

So with that comes the warning that today's post might not be for everyone. If you have a scroll and think what the hell then that's cool, but if you happen to resonate with something in what I have to say today then that is awesome too.

With all that said, here is today's post: Colour My Emotions....
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I need to start this with a confession.... I have had a lot of trouble finishing and publishing this post. When I have a million thoughts swirling around my mind, it becomes really difficult to distinguish what is a thought worth giving time to and what is just mental white noise.

When my thought tornadoes get really bad, I find it really difficult to make sense of whatever is actually going through my head. It's all one big muddle.

Right now I'll be honest - I am knee deep in muddle. I had this amazing plan to sit down and write y'all a super long lovely rant about the way I'd been feeling recently and what I think people can learn from it. But I can't seem to get through the muddle to write anything like that.

Instead, I find myself trying to make sense of life through the use of two things - colour and quotes.

As human beings, we have a surprisingly strong connection to colour. It has a really big impact on our emotions and how we perceive the world. Life isn't in black and white for a reason, right?

I personally love colour and I feel a certain affinity to them at times when I am paying attention to my feelings.

In trying to pay attention to my recent feelings, I also realised that I couldn't articulate them using my own words. I just haven't got that level of creative capacity right now, sorry.

So naturally, I turned to other people's words and gathered up some fun and thought provoking quotes that matched the different symbolisms of each colour.

I know there are thousands of colours and words out there in the world, but the ones I have chosen to highlight to you readers are the ones that I am relating to and potentially need more of right now:

RED

Red is one of my favourite colours because it is so striking, dynamic and dramatic. It’s versatile too, and makes a statement wherever it goes. Red’s hard to miss, am I right? Studies have found that the presence of red can lead to enhanced metabolism and increased levels of enthusiasm, energy and general confidence about life. Red gemstones have a similar symbolism, as they increase interest and even offer protection from anxieties and fears.

FAVOURITE RED THINGS: London’s double decker buses, lipstick and tomatoes

RED SYMBOLISES:

SENSITIVITY:“Being sensitive is a gift that fosters peace. Help create a kinder, gentler world by embracing it” – Amy Leigh Mercree

STRENGTH: "Unity is strength... when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved” – Mattie Stepanek

WILLPOWER: "Research shows that willpower is more important than IQ. That’s why the point isn’t to become smarter, but to become more self-disciplined” – Adam Kirk Smith

COURAGE: “There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me” – Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice)

DETERMINATION: “Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe” – Gail Devers

YELLOW

A breath of fresh air, yellow has an illuminating quality that never fails to make me smile. It’s warm and cheerful to look out, especially in its lighter and pastel shades. According to studies it has a number of stimulating qualities. They include activating the memory, encouraging communication and enhancing vision. Yellow gemstones are also believed to bring clarity for decision-making and relief from burnout, panic, nervousness and exhaustion.

FAVOURITE YELLOW THINGS: Bananas, sunflowers, smiley face emoji's.

YELLOW SYMBOLISES:

HAPPINESS: "Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared” – Buddha

INSPIRATION:“Inspiration comes from within yourself. One has to be positive. When you're positive, good things happen” – Deep Roy

CLARITY: "I continue to be drawn to clarity and simplicity. 'Less is more' remains my mantra” – Stephane Rolland

INTELLECT: “Curiosity is one of the most permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect” – Samuel Johnson

REMEMBRANCE: "A happy moment can last a lifetime if you remember to smile when you think of it” – Anonymous

GREEN

I have a special place in my heart for green because of how calm and placid it makes me feel. It is the most relaxing colour for the human eye to view. Green is soothing, youthful and is known to have a kind of healing power. According to experts, this colour helps to enhance endurance and alleviate anxiety, depression and nervousness. Furthermore, green gemstones are believed to help create balance and increase feelings of hope and optimism.

FAVOURITE GREEN THINGS: Four leaf clovers, grapes, the gemstone jade

GREEN SYMBOLISES:

RENEWAL: “If you want to know, life is the principle of self-renewal, it is constantly renewing and remaking and changing and transfiguring itself, it is infinitely beyond your or my obtuse theories about it” – Boris Pasternak

GROWTH: “There are no great limits to growth because there are no limits of human intelligence, imagination, and wonder” – Ronald Reagan

AMBITION: “Do not let your grand ambitions stand in the way of small but meaningful accomplishments” – Bryant H. McGill

SAFETY: “Safety is something that happens between your ears, not something you hold in your hands” – Jeff Cooper

HARMONY: “Harmony makes small things grow, lack of it makes great things decay” – Sallust

BLUE

Reminiscent of the sky and the sea, blue is another one of my absolute favourite colours. Associated with open spaces and general tranquility, it can cause the body to produce calming chemicals and exude spiritual feelings. Blue helps to slow down human metabolism and really helps with balance and self-expression. Additionally, blue gemstones are known to help to bring relaxation in crisis situations and courage to speak honestly from the heart.

FAVOURITE BLUE THINGS: A worn-in pair of jeans, the Ulysses butterfly and blueberries

BLUE SYMBOLISES:

STABILITY: “There is stability in walking an uncertain path, because you never allow yourself to be misled by what you think you know” – AJ Darkholme

TRUST: “Trust in dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity” – Khalil Gibran

WISDOM: “Don't gain the world and lose your soul; wisdom is better than silver or gold” – Bob Marley

FAITH: “Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it” – Bruce Lee

TRUTH: “The truth." Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution” – J.K. Rowling

PURPLE

I’ve saved the best for last because I absolutely adore the colour purple. As a shade that rarely occurs in nature, it’s seen as holding a special kind of spiritual meaning. Associated with vitality and fulfillment, purple helps to align oneself with the whole of the universe and also calm the nerves and mind. Violet gemstones have a similar significance because they apparently calm confrontations and re-energises the learning of new tasks.

FAVOURITE PURPLE THINGS: Amethyst (my birthstone), lavender and nail polish

PURPLE SYMBOLISES:

MYSTERY: “Each person is an enigma. You're a puzzle not only to yourself but also to everyone else, and the great mystery of our time is how we penetrate this puzzle” – Theodore Zeldin

INDEPENDENCE: “I like being a strong, independent woman, and to be honest, I was never afraid to be on my own” – Dido Armstrong

MAGIC: “And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it” – Roald Dahl

CREATIVITY: “Creativity is the process of having original ideas that have value. It is a process; it's not random” – Ken Robinson

DIGNITY: “Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them” – Aristotle

★☆★☆★☆★☆★

As much as I love the texture of a black and white aesthetic, I will always be a colour girl at heart. I like the idea of colours having a meaning and resonance that goes deeper than just another pigment that our retinas can see.

In amongst my mind tornadoes, I try to focus on the meaning beneath the surface of things. These past few weeks, colour has been the thing of choice but it changes a lot.

At the end of the day, I know that colours and quotes will always be interesting to me when other people find them simple or boring. They are part of how I stay somewhat sane in my mind muddle. We all need something am I right?
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So there we go. If that was weird and made no sense, I understand. My brain isn't really functioning at a high level right now so I apologise if this was too much for y'all. But if you managed to get something meaningful out of it, that's damn awesome. Please share and recommend to friends if you want to as well 😀

Question of the Day: What is your favourite colour and why? Leave me your answers in the comments below and be sure to follow me on Instagram (@miss_memphis98) to keep up with my weirdness in blog form 💙

Thanks for reading,

Love, hues and words, Emily xx 😕