Synesthesia

Synesthesia
“an anomalous blending of the senses in which the stimulation of one modality simultaneously produces sensation in a different modality. Synesthetes hear colors, feel sounds, and taste shapes.”

I’ve been delighting in the ever-changing color palettes of nature

They seem to almost have a taste in them
And the tastes go on a dance,
shifting from one taste to the other
as the colors morph into new expressions with every passing minute

Watching the sun setting over the sea today
and the sky softening from fiery orange to the softest pink in less than two minutes,
I was reminded of the ever-changing nature of things

Ancient Chinese wisdom is centered around nature being a master teacher,
carrying lessons and reminders about life and who we are

The theory is that we are a microcosm of a much larger macrocosm

That there is an entire universe within us
and that the external world around us with all its laws and dynamics is a potent mirror of our inner world

Its teaching is reflected in endless spiritual traditions (religious and secular), including our very own in this region:

"إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلَافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ لَآيَاتٍ لِّأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ"
"Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding."

There are two big lessons I’ve been hearing from this changing melody of colors and tastes and the sensations they evoke:

1. Things are constantly changing

Nothing lasts forever.
Immutable darkness turns to the brightest cracks of light
and the sunniest of days morphs into the night.

Neither is better than the other,
if we step away from the personal meaning that we attach to it.

If we simply allow ourselves to enjoy its unfolding,
we actually find that this ebb and flow is essential for our wellbeing
(we need the dark to be able to properly rest and need the light to be mobilized and energized to move)

Things are no different with the personal seasons of our lives

2. Different scenes/landscapes of nature evoke different states within us

I was gazing out into the open sea on a chilly afternoon feeling quite irritable (thank you, PMS),
only to realize after less than a minute that my nerves had been soothed

The serene, quiet steadiness of the soft blue waves seemed to cool my out-of-nowhere hot temper
And I was reminded that we can tap into resource states within ourselves
by immersing ourselves in different aspects of nature
and their unique evocative qualities

No, it doesn’t magically fix our problems or make them go away, but it does resource us to be in a better state to navigate whatever situation we’re in until we get to a resolution eventually

Once we practice connecting deeply to our bodies frequently enough,
we can seamlessly surf between different states

and aspects of ourselves

And I think that’s pretty magical!

What lessons does nature’s uninterrupted dance share with you?