Color Your Life

We’ve lived in our home for three and a half years and for three and a half years I have contemplated re-painting the light pinky-beige that the builder’s painter sprayed on every wall and ceiling. But all of the color choices confounded me. There were so many—too many. “Is this one too light?” I’d ask my husband. “This one is definitely too dark. Which one do you like?” When Bill would choose, I’d say, “Maybe. I’ll have to think about it a little more.” He’d sigh and say, “Let me know when you’re ready.” I debated, mulled, sampled, solicited opinions, and lost sleep over dozens of colors until last Friday. That was when fate stepped in. We’d moved all of the furniture out of my office to have the carpet re-stretched and, standing there in an empty room, I realized this was my big moment. This was the perfect time to paint. I got out notebook number one (I have three) picked a color chart and thumbed through it. There, on the page, a cool shade of green barely an inch long caught my eye. Vale Mist, it was called (I’d like to shake the hand of the person who has to come up with 159 clever names for the green—that’s creativity!). Vale Mist perfectly matched one of the leaf colors in the little pink and floral sofa in my office. “That’s the one,” I said to Bill, surprising both of us. What was I thinking? I hadn’t debated, mulled, sampled, solicited opinions, or even lost sleep over it. From the first brushstroke, I held my breath. But as we worked I saw the color transform my office from its blah-ness into a warm, inviting, inspiring place. Why had I waited so long to take this chance? What was I so afraid of? Indecisiveness. It will do that to you. It will hold you back, make you believe where you are is good enough, persuade you that light pinky-beige is your destiny. Don’t let it. Take a foreign language class. Join a photography club. Try something you’ve longed to do. If you hate it, that's okay. Try something else. Don't take comfort in complacency. It’s like painting, I think. How can we discover our color if we never open the can? I have to go. I have a whole house to paint!