Reason #3. If I was to choose a word to describe myself it would be: colourful
A few months ago I had the pleasure to read Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love. I chose this book at a time where I could not put into words all the things I had been experiencing, doing and feeling for the past few years. It was a gift to the soul to read someone else’s journey and feel so understood by it — as if I had a companion on this journey. Even though that part of her journey happened many moons ago, the shared experience remained as vivid through her pages as if she was walking her path of most resistance in parallel to me walking mine.
When in Rome, Elizabeth has a profound conversation while sitting in an outdoor café having a conversation with her friend Maria’s husband, Giulio. He asks her what she thinks of Rome, she explains that she really loves the place but that it is not her city, not a place she will end up living in for the rest of her life. As they are having this conversation, she spots a ‘quintessential Roman woman — a fantastically maintained, jewelry-sodden forty-something dame wearing four-inch heels, a tight skirt with a slit as long as your arm…’¹. She points the woman out to Giulio and tells him that she is a Roman Woman (complete opposite of who she is) and that she believes Rome cannot be both their cities; to which he replies ‘Maybe you and Rome just have different words.’²
She asks him to explain himself to which he says ‘every city has a single word that defines it, that identifies most people who live there”³ and Rome’s word is SEX. They go on talking about other city’s words until the question — and the whole point of mentioning Liz and Giulio on this piece — comes up: ‘What’s your word?’⁴
I am not going to tell you what her word is because it takes her a while to find it, and you should really read the book, but what I will tell you is that my word presented itself almost immediately.
By now, you should probably know that it has been really hard for me to put into words anything and everything I have been doing, so it came as a huge surprise to me when this particular word came into my mind and out of my mouth as effortlessly as breathing.
Colourful is my word.
If you look at the definition of a colourful character you get some interesting results. Collins Dictionary states that ‘A colourful character is a person who behaves in an interesting and amusing way. A colourful character, he likes extravagant gestures.’⁵ On the other hand, Psychology Today, will tell you that ‘the colorful personality is a subclinical form of histrionic personality disorder, which refers to a pattern of attention-seeking behaviour featuring exaggerated, even theatrical displays of emotion and shallow relationships.’⁶
These are both accurate and inaccurate versions of why colourful is my word.
I do like to think I behave in interesting and amusing ways; I for one, have a lot of fun hanging out with myself. Most of the time. Sometimes I do get a bit tired of all the energy and deep feelings I hold within and have to hibernate to recharge my own energy. Do I have a personality disorder? I don’t think so, but I do have multiple personalities that reside within me and help me see the world as an empath.
I live in all spectrums of colour because I find beauty in them all. I like to hear people’s stories, understand their perspective, where they come from and where they are going. Why they are shaped the way they are. Different cultures and people make my soul sing. I believe I have an old soul and have lived a lot of different lives (more on this later) so I tend to feel more at home when surrounded by different points of view, people of different ethnicities and beliefs systems that are open to share their experiences and perspectives as much as they like to listen to and respect others.
I don’t believe in absolute truths that need to be imposed on everyone, I think the world is beautiful because we are all different but very much the same, all connected by the energy of the universe itself, and all longing for purpose and driven by a desire to love and be loved.
I see the world in colours which is why I don’t wear sunglasses anymore, I want to see the full range of colours as they present themselves to me, no filter attached.
My word is colourful because I am forever changing, evolving and learning. And that is why being colourful is another reason why I love myself.
#35reasonswhyilovemyself
¹-²-³-⁴ Gilbert, Elizabeth. Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search For Everything Across Italy, India, And Indonesia. New York : Penguin, 2007, c2006
⁵ ”Colourful definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary.” https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/colourful. Accessed 27 Nov. 2020.
⁶ “Your Field Guide to the Colorful Personality | Psychology Today.” 26 Sep. 2015, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/unique-everybody-else/201509/your-field-guide-the-colorful-personality. Accessed 27 Nov. 2020.
