Culture of Color

In my culture, we were taught by color.

When newborns see the world for the first time it’s like a grey scale painting, how do you they define things using two colors.

Nobody knows. Nobody could have known.  

Our minds are abstract canvasses while our hands are tangible paintbrushes.

When we were kids, we colored stars yellow, clouds blue, fire red, but we grew up surprised that not all stars are yellow, or that clouds are not blue, or that not all flames are red.

We all grew up trying to understand the peculiarities of life and the symbols the world use to continuously function.

Every day we see people traverse through routines or unpredictabilities using colorful approaches.

Some we see in white that resembles purity. Some use the color green which symbolizes growth. Some use blue to represent hope.

Groups use colors to promote goals or advocacies.

Cultures use colors for upholding traditions and beliefs.

Flag colors symbolize war, peace, and history.

Colors could define a thing by how we see it, but colors should never define people by how we see them.

Like how skin color should resemble integrity, not pave the way to discrimination or how individual favorite colors should represent personal identity, not result to fear of expression.

Colors do not dim darkness to an even darker shade or amplify brightness to become even brighter.

Colors color life.

Let us use color to see the beauty of the rainbow after the rain, or to see the importance of nature so green from a book page, or to see the richness of the world so blue from the outer space. Let us see life in the color of faith.

Because in my culture we were taught by color.