I finally saw The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel today. A sweet movie. I enjoyed it. India is not really on my short list of places to visit, but that's mostly because the number of people that I would be around kind of intimidates me. I love watching movies that are filmed in India. I love all the colors, I love the elephants, I love a lot of the culture that I've learned about. But, I don't really like big crowds and there's just no way to get around that. When I'm in a crowd, I get pushed around and end up feeling anxious and un-fun. I can't just hang out and look around at my surroundings because I feel like I have to rush to get someplace rather than actually just enjoying the walk/ride to wherever I am going. I tend to put a lot of weight on the 'getting-to' parts of vacations as much as my actual destination. I like to enjoy everything, not just parts.
Still, I think that someday I would like to go and give India a whirl because those people know how to live in color. I think I would fall in love with the textiles and the way in which Indians seem to attract vibrant colors to their dress, furnishings, and life in general. I love that! I feel like Americans, for the most part, are kind of scared of color. Apartments are often boring white, with landlords that threaten to evict you if you dare to paint the walls. Realtors tell you neutral is best. People walk around dressed in only one color, oftentimes some sort of neutral, like they're too scared (or too bored) to make any sort of actual statement with their clothing choice, so they go with khaki pants and some boring neutral shirt. Come on! Color makes you feel things differently. I think Americans could really stand to get out of their beige habit. Beige does not make you feel anything but bored and does not project any sort of image except that you are boring. Wear bold colors and just try to not feel more alive, I dare you! Paint something bright and decorate your space with it. It will change your whole environment. I'm a huge fan of wearing colors. I'm a huge fan of color in general, but the bold color trends that are in the stores lately? Awesome. The best thing to happen to American fashion in a long time. If only more Americans would actually take the plunge and wear brighter colors, I think this entire country would get a jolt of fun energy. We could be all like, 'What recession? We're all wearing jade green pants, orange tops, and bright blue cardigans! There's no recession here, only lively human beings!' There is a reason that preschools are usually full of bright, bold colors. Human beings thrive in those sort of environments. We learn, explore, create, and have adventures in these bright, lively spaces and then we grow up and enter 'the real world' where we get stuck in beige boxes wearing tan khaki pants and white shirts and then we wonder why we're sad and bored with our lives? Hello? Color transforms your whole world. I think it's a huge part of our senses. It just makes you more alive to be around things that are bold and colorful and interesting. I think realtors, office managers, and administrators need to lighten up (and brighten up) and back off their neutral/boring stance. It's lame. Live in color and be excited about living again!
