Friday, May 8, 2009

Lush Life



Green is the color most often associated with the heart chakra. It is associated with healing, and also, as they explained at the Berkeley Psychic Institute, green shows us how to take "the next step." Green is the color ecological activists use to describe a lifestyle that's in harmony with the natural world. Green means brand new (as in green behind the ears). Green means GO.

Here in the swamp where I live, the micro-season of pastels is over and the season of green is in full swing. I'm not saying that's the only visible color, oh no. Gardens will sport every imaginable flower between now and autumn, coming in waves with the micro-seasons of summer. But green will prevail. From underfoot to the canopy overhead, DC is as green as green can be, and will remain so until August when summer begins to fade.

I believe that my brain benefits from its visual summertime bath of green, and so of course also my mind, heart and body. The rain has stopped and the sun has come out, revealing a world of deep, delicious green. Welcome summer!


I stopped every ten steps and took a pic as I walked half the length of Lincoln Park.
This is my crude attempt to take you on a green "walking tour."

28 comments:

NanU said...

What a clever idea to take us on the walk along the park - thank you!
You're right about the green taking over. In Aubière too, the trees are all leafed out and the yard is pushing greenery up so fast I can't keep up with it.

Natalie said...

I seriously LOVE green! And pink and yellow, and Duck Egg Blue and ......
No, really, I LOVE Green.
Thank You, Reya, green is often red and blue's poor relation.xx♥

Andrea said...

I love your "walking tour!" I took a stroll through my neighborhood last evening (with the sun!!) and took in all the green. I suppose all the rain that help foster all this green will help us heal!

Delwyn said...

I thank you god
for most this amazing day
for the leaping greenly
spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky
and for everything
which is natural
which is infinite
which is yes

ee cummings

Val said...

its seems so fast - from here - that you moved from deep winter to summer green; and green is soooo good for you! your photos are awesome as always...loved the walk in the park x

Verily I go. said...

Out of body. You have me think, see, feel, emote. Thank you for taking me on a walk. Very cool. AND to know why!! i love green.

ellen abbott said...

Green is such a soothing color. Easy on the eye and full of life. Such a clever girl you are with your camera. Thanks.

Ady Grafovna said...

That walking tour was lovely. This time of year is so lovely!

Butternut Squash said...

Thank you for the walking tour. I hope you will do that again.

The farmer found someone to mow our generous lawn for us for $25 bucks and I thought, 'great.' But we have now had to mow it 6 times in the last 3 weeks. That green came on fast and furious!

R.L. Bourges said...

Gorgeous. And you're right - green really 'works'. Up in Montréal, when I couldn't stand the winter any longer, I'd repair to the hothouses at the Botanical Gardens and spend an afternoon with the giant ferns and such. Never failed to get me feeling better.

Enjoyed the stroll. Thanks, Reya!

Anonymous said...

Green became my favorite color about the time I started surfing. When a wave throws water into a tube shape and you're inside, it's called getting barreled, or being in the Green Room. It's akin to being back in the womb. Back to Mother Ocean.

Love the tour, so relaxing!

Elizabeth said...

At first I thought I was having a seizure and my eyes were jumping about from all that green.
But it was a nice walk

A.Marvell:

annihilating all that's made
into a green thought in a green shade


For a nice walk in a bluebell wood in England
go to
www.ramblingsfromanenglishgarden.blogspot.com
and scroll back one post
you will not be disappointed
Happy Weekend, Reya and JAke.

Tessa said...

Gosh, Reya, that was no 'crude attempt'! It was fantabulous - I loved every minute of your lush green walk. Total bliss! Thank you....and more please?

Michelle Stiles said...

Living in the other Washington, I feel the same fondmess to green. It is EVERYWHERE! I love it!

Nancy said...

I loved the walking tour! How fun!

I love the green - we have a different green here at Tahoe. It is pine and some grass but mostly natural landscaping that does not have that bright green you are talking about. I know what you mean, though, and I love it!

Snowbrush said...

I agree with you about the benefits of green, and can easily see its association with "taking the next step."

Amy said...

I needed a walk this morning, especially a lovely green filled one. Thank you, thank you! What a sight you must have been walking and stopping to take pictures every few steps! And, all for us. Lucky, lucky us. You're a gem.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed our walk! I may borrow that idea from you when I start my mountain climbing next month!

Tom said...

it is all very green here as well...thanks for taking us on a walk...that's a great idea--now i need to go out for a run...somehow walking seems too slow for me.

ShirleyAnn said...

I enjoyed the walk.

Anonymous said...

I love how there's no sidewalk. Truly green!

Bee said...

Green really is delicious. The fields here are so green at the minute it makes me want to swoon at their beauty!

The phrase "micro-season of pastels" really appealed to me.

Reya Mellicker said...

Thanks everyone for calling me clever. I'm no Hiroshige, who made paintings every mile between somewhere and somewhere else in Japan - one of my favorites of his prolific works. All I had to do was press the button.

Though Amy you are correct that people were staring at me as if I was doing something really weird. Also I now know exactly how many of my steps it takes to get around Lincoln Park, a useless bit of information, isn't it? Oh well.

Reya Mellicker said...

I swear Hiroshige did a series of paintings or woodblock prints from a journey he took from somewhere to Edo, but upon quick googling, I can't find it.

I still think he was the inspiration.

More walking tours? Of course!

Merle Sneed said...

Green is my favorite color.

Ronda Laveen said...

No, the number of steps is not useless, I don't think. I can't say EXACTLY how to use the info but it is a kind of patterning. Zen our autistic, I can't tell but somehow it is a pattern my brain makes sense of even if I can't. I have never even been close that area so I loved the project.

You mentioned the Berkley Pshychic Institute. Did you attend? One of my very good friends, Susan, went there a number of years back. She loved it.

Ronda Laveen said...

Should have said close "to" that area. Too qwik fingers.

Winston Riley said...

Interesting! In 5 elements theory and chi kung/taoist mysticism/alchemy, etc, the heart region would be red. The element is fire or sun. Green would be liver, which is wood. Makes sense that wood is the element of the growing things, trees and such. The two do cycle in to each other though, actually wood in to fire and it happens at Spring. So I could see that in 5 elements, Spring altogether could be green, which cycles back in to fire (heart--sun). By the way in the cycle from Spring to Summer, the movement would be from fire (heart) to Earth (spleen, stomach, pancreas)and summer and the color is yellow. Just an added observation from you resident Taoist enthusiast. Love, Dub