A World of Color

When people begin to talk about their own quirks, they usually list things such as:

biting their fingernails
tapping their fingers
humming under their breath
needing to recount things
touching each pole as they walk along
straightening everything on their desk

All those annoying, little habits that make us who we are...I'm sure I have many of those odd quirks (okay, so I know I do...), but the one I'm going to talk about today, is something that most people never experience and can't even understand sometimes.

I was recently told that my "quirk" has a name:
synesthesia

And what is it exactly? Well. To put it simply, for me, everything is a color. Every single thing has a color or shade...books, music, movies, people, seasons, months, days, numbers, scents...everything!


For example: in my head, when I hear the name of one of my best friends, "HannahBeth", I immediately see a silvery-purplish color.
Or, when I hear the month, June, I think of a rosy, deep-pink color.
The movie, "Little Women" is a mixture of silvery-white and velvety-red.
The book, "Enemy Brothers" is a navy-blue and gray.
The song, "Tennessee" by Hans Zimmer is a deep, summer-green and golden color.


I think because I view the world in such a way explains why I just so happen to love bright and vivid colors. I love brightly-color and vivid pictures! To me, they just stick out, and the majority of the time, when something that I consider nice or pleasant enters my mind, the colors I view for it are bright and vivid.

Most people think I am odd for the way I think, and for some, they just can't wrap their head around how it works. To be honest, I don't even know how it works myself. It's just something that's there. And from my point of view, I don't know how people live without experiencing this! What is their world like??? What is a world like without viewing it through colors?? Where's the excitement of playing a new piece on the piano if you can't close your eyes and see the colors? Where's the true contentment of enjoying summer, if you can just lie on the grass and close eyes and see the colors that associated with the scents?? I think viewing the world this way is why I am so passionate about photography...I love capturing those colors.


This is my world...over-flowing with color.

In Christ Alone

Smile

I feel particularly happy today. :D Why? Because all of my five senses are telling me it's just about summer.

I feel the deliciousness warmth of the high temps, and the rough feeling of GREEN grass under my feet.


I smell the delicious scent of mowed grass, someone barbecuing in the neighborhood, and lilies of the valley.


I taste the cool, smooth, exciting taste of iced coffee with shots of blueberry and caramel.


I see the sunshine shining through the trees and shining down on my little sister's head, giving her a halo.


I hear the music of the funnest and one of my favoritest songs, "Smile" by Uncle Kracker.

"You make me smile like the sun, fall out of bed, sing like a bird, dizzy in my head, spin like a record, crazy on a Sunday night, you make me dance like a fool, forget how to breathe, shine like gold, buzz like a bee, just the thought of you can drive me wild, you make me smiiiiiiile..."

I asked for peace today...

I am sitting in my soon-to-be new room. The walls are still bright pink with splotches of white where it still needs to be sanded.

The window is open as wide as it can possibly go and the shade all the way up. It's sunset, and everything is all goldeny and green right outside my window.

There is a snickers bar lying on the floor beside me, one bite taken from it.
On the other side of me is The Pioneer Woman by Ree Drummond, open to page 169.

There is an ear bud allowing Ludovico Einaudi's Nefali play quietly in my right ear, while the annoying little birds tweet in my left ear from the open window.

Everything else is fairly quiet. And very peaceful. And it just makes me happy, because this morning at work, in the midst of one of the craziest & busiest work days I've had in a long time, I prayed:

God, today more than anything, I want peace right now.

And in spite of the craziness of work.
In spite of how exhausted I feel, how much my head aches, and how much I dislike the muggy weather we've been having...I feel comforted by this peacefulness.

I asked God for peace today. And I got it.

*heart*

But I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, "You are my God."
My times are in your hand;
rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!
Make your face shine on your servant;
save me in your steadfast love!

-Psalm 31:14-16

This morning started out wrong...and continued to go wrong. Feeling completely zombified and completely exhausted, I dragged myself to work and eventually came home to tackle the long list of chores I had to accomplish. The cloudy, muggy weather didn't help any...it's been this way all week long, and I've been craving the sunshine.

As the day progressed, the more tired I began to feel. And the more grumpy and down I became.

I started to dwell on that unhappiness...until I stumbled across that passage on another blog. And, I kid you not...just as I read that, the sun came out. :)

God's shining His face on me. (Corny, I know...)

1000 Gifts

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2006/11/gift-list-thousand-things/

134. Quiet afternoons

135. Long conversations with friends

136. Listening to rain on the roof while in bed

137. "Hellojello" "Hellocello" :D

138. A new story idea

139. Moving true stories

140. "The Reading Promise" - Magical book

141. Strawberry and banana smoothie

142. Dangly earrings from a friend

143. Wrapping up birthday gifts

144. Blue ribbons

145. Old photo albums

146. Coffee with caramel

147. Gooey, chewy, yummy, homemade brownies

148. Playing Bananagrams

149. "Tennessee" by Hans Zimmer

150. Green grass

1000 Gifts

I guess I didn't actually hit the "Publish Post" button on Monday. Darn. Oh, well, better late than never!

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2006/11/gift-list-thousand-things/

116. Iced tea

117. A sister married

118. A new brother

119. Dancing as much as I want

120. Bunny ears

121. Sunshine, blue skies, and warm temps

122. Green grass and green buds on trees

123. Wine that actually tastes good ;)

124. Pretty dresses

125. Blue nail polish

126. An "I know, I understand," from a friend

127. Sleeping in

128. Picnics with friends

129. Bubbles

130. Inside jokes

131. Sharing grins with friends

132. Walking down an aisle before my sister

133. Hayley Westenra's music