SEEING RED!

All around us, everything we see, touch, feel or wear has colour – each with its own characteristics and specific therapeutic qualities. As the sun’s vital messengers, they are the sensations that enrich our world. Important since we are ‘hu-man beings’ – the ‘man’-ifestation of ‘hues’ come into ‘being’ – colouring our experiences through our thoughts, attitudes, memories and beliefs – and colour certainly affects us emotionally – especially women.

Some years ago my husband, John, and I were sponsoring a national Golf Challenge in a charming, old town in the Karoo, South Africa, on behalf of his company. This was a first for me. I, who usually wear colourful, way-out clothes, felt that as the ‘sponsor’s wife’ I should ‘look the part’. I felt an impressive purple outfit would do the trick. Or would it?

The warmth, generosity and friendliness of the incredibly genuine down-to-earth residents was overwhelming – but that gorgeous purple outfit would be so completely out of place – as were all the other over-the-top outfits I had brought with me! So, playing it safe, I donned my smart red trouser suit and black top – perfect – or so I thought!

  Even with this conservative attire I still did not quite ‘fit in’, but soon felt relaxed and more ‘at home’ amongst the warm banter of the well-spirited golfers and their families. As the joviality of the evening progressed, a casual comment by the Golf Club’s president’s wife, Jenny – sitting next to me for the dinner- stirred meaningful insight into colour.

  She stated how much the colour red suited me. I thanked her and thought nothing further until Elaine – on my other side – stated that she hated the colour. For me, a comment like this is like holding a red rag to a bull. I charged in headfirst and started questioning her as to why she didn’t like red. She just didn’t, she said – she had no idea why!

  I went on to inform her that red is the colour of the base chakra. Her eyes lit up – she knew all about charkas because she did yoga. My initial reaction was to give up there and then, but instead decided to share what red represents in our lives and how meaningful it really is.

  Her puzzled look told me that she had no idea what I was going on about. I explained: “Red is related to Mother Earth and represents our security, mobility, stability and progress – especially within the family and society – influencing our, pelvic area…” Elaine stopped me in my tracks. “Did you say pelvic area?” Elaine asked. I nodded. “I’ve had two hip replacements.” “When?” I enquired. One was six years ago and the other 13 years before that. “What was going on in your life 19 years ago?” I asked.

  Elaine’s face screwed up at the memory of her divorce and the thought of the abuse in her first marriage. She was still ‘seeing red’. Suddenly Elaine got it! It was not red that she dislikes but the memories surrounding the colour. A discussion as to how she could best deal with the frightful situation followed. After all, it is all very well unearthing the root cause, but it is even more empowering to be able to do something about it.

  As we were mulling over the revelation, Jenny quietly muttered that she hated black. Quelle horreur! The two colours that I had been guided to wear were the very two that my new-found friends did not like! We laughed at this realisation, knowing that nothing ever happens by accident!

Jenny comes from Australia and is a very open and giving soul, so I thought getting to the core of her issue with black would be a ‘piece of cake’. “Okay Jenny, why don’t you like black?” “Black is not even a colour,” she replied. “Why wear black when there are so many other beautiful colours to choose from?” “But black is smart – I love black,” Elaine offered.

  “Is there anything in your life that you relate to black?” I persisted. “No,” Jenny responded. “And in your childhood?” I asked. “Very happy,” she said. So much for ‘getting to the bottom’ quickly! Then Jenny volunteered that she had been terrified of the dark and around the age of three had dropped a lit candle setting a part of a carpet alight – leaving a black patch – which her ‘nose was constantly rubbed in’.

  This meant finding out what was going on in her mother’s life at that time. Her father had sent the family to the mountains while remaining in Sydney. Her mother was angry and depressed at being ‘in the dark’ and was apparently prone to ‘black-outs’ Phew! This was deep. I suggested that Jenny wrote down everything that came to mind when thinking of black – and all the related emotions – then placed the paper under her pillow and slept on it! It’s amazing what can be resolved in dreamtime!

  What a relief! When leaving this world we will not be asked about the colour of our skin, but about the content of our heart and the nature of our character. By rediscovering our own light and resonating to our authentic colours we can become a shining light to others. Enjoy!