Shades of Life: Grey Clouds

I love my colours
Soft, bright, black, white
Each one carrying its own touch
But there's something about grey
That draws me in
Like the sight of the dark clouds
Rolling in before the rain
Sometimes I like to stand there
Eyes closed
Arms wide open
Feeling the soothing wind
Soaking in the terrifying storms
Breathing in all the grey
Sometimes lighter, calmer
Sometimes darker, angrier
Ever changing
A shade for every mood
And in that moment
Staring at the rumbling clouds
I feel a connection
Like we understand one another
The layers
The shades
The complexities
Of every single moment that has made us
A mix of emotions
A mix of traits
Carrying wonder, joy
Carrying pain, suffering
All of it
Stuffed in one package
Trying to make sense of the world
While still not able to make sense of ourselves
And to know us
You have to peel the layers
See the fear with the hope
Feel the terror with the joy
Knowing
That you may never really be able to pin us down
Because we never stay still
We’re ever changing
Our grey from yesterday
Might be different from the grey of tomorrow
And maybe that's scary
Maybe that's confusing
But maybe that's who we are.

Shades of Life: Black Night

I don’t do it often
Though I wish I did:
Stare up at the night sky
At the dark blanket
Enveloping us all
There’s a familiarity in it
It's always there
No matter what
And unlike everything else
The shades are few
Just a constant black
Staring back at you
Unchanging
Uncaring
Or so it seems
Because as you stare at the darkness
As the noise dies out
And silence is all you have
Something lets go
You whisper secrets to it
Secrets buried deep inside
And as the emotions come out
As the tears roll out
It takes them all in
Protecting you with its darkness
Wrapping its arms around you
Helping those tears float away
To join the many others
Already buried within it
The murmured secrets
The whispered tales
Of forgotten moments
Of souls you never met
From around the universe
All guarded by the night
Reminding you
Of an endless abyss
Of the vastness of it all
And that you
Are just a small part of it
But as you look at that black night
Your tears now dried up
It tells you silently
That it doesn’t matter
How big the world is
How complex life is
How many souls it embraces
Because the ultimate secret
The only one you need to remember
The only one you need to hear
Is that in this moment
You, matter.

Shades of Life: Brown Land

Some look at it

And move on their gaze

What is it, after all

Drab

Dull

Dry

Having neither the vibrancy of green trees

Nor the majesticity of blue water

It’s just brown land

An overlooked shade

Muddy

Boring

Stale

But I’ve come to learn

That there’s power

In the underdog

In the one nobody roots for

And as I continue to gaze

At vast expanses of sand

At towering, bare mountains

At bare, brown land

Spreading

As far as the eyes can see

I feel humbled

At the power it radiates

It has stood the test of time

Like nothing else in this world

Aging

Ever so slowly

Ever so consistently

No matter the changes around

Needing nothing

Enduring everything

Like that wise old man

Shunned by the younger crowd

Yet still standing proud

Not caring what others think

Not competing for a crown

Whispering

Secrets of old

Secrets of life

Telling you

That a moment of surrender

Is all you need

To appreciate beauty

Where none is seen.

Shades of Life: Orange Sun

It’s like magic
The colours painted across the sky
As the sun rises
As the sun sets
That gleam of orange
Piercing through the backdrop
Hitting your core
Forcing you
To stop everything
To take a break
From your hectic daily life
And pause
Just pause
Breathe
Soak this moment in
Before it disappears
And open your eyes
To the wonder
To the magic
That is life
Inspiring you
With its raw beauty
As colours begin to merge
As though putting on a show
For you
Just you
You can feel the rays hitting you
Feel them in every particle in your being
Energizing you
Healing you
Reminding you
That life is beautiful
If only you paused to look.

Shades of Life: Green Nature

There's a shade of green I love
Bright
Fresh
Vibrant
Teeming with life
Like the one after the rains
Like life itself
Nature waking up
Yawning
Stretching
Ready
For the bustling day ahead
Filled with energy
And contagious smiles
Like that first sip of coffee
Like waking up with a kiss
It’s that green of life
Telling you
That you're here
You're alive
To do what you want
To seize the moment
To feel the zest
To live it in
Breathe it in
Do the thing you love
Take that risk
Bask in the freshness
Because in this moment
With that vibrancy coursing through you
Nothing can stop you.

Shades of Life: Blue Sea

Calm
That’s what I feel
Every time I look at the sea
The blue water
Glistening under the sun
Still
Radiant
Majestic
Yet I know
That that’s not the full story
Because that light blue that I love
Is only a part of it
There are shades
Layers
Darker
Deeper
Hiding secrets
Hiding life
Carrying memories
Carrying anger
Which, when unleashed
Can devour us all
Maybe that’s why I like to sit by the edge
Watching from a distance
Mesmerized
Fearful
Respectful
Trying to fathom
The vastness before me
Sometimes I wonder
How can it be both?
Calming, soothing, constant
Raging, angry, tumultuous
But then I realize
Isn’t that what we are?
We can’t put it in a box
Any more than we can put ourselves
Because to know the sea
To love the sea
You have to embrace every soothing, raging bit of it.