Food Coloring

When I was about 6 or 7 Miss Penny used to come over to my house to read stories and bake together.

My favorite memory from the short time I had with her (she passed away not long after our time together) was making butterfly cupcakes.

We'd get plain cupcakes, cut out a tiny circle off the top of the cupcake, which we would then cut in half to make wings. To get the wings to stick we mixed some food coloring with (icing? sugar? can't remember anymore but it was delicious) and poured that paste into the hole we cut in the cupcake. We'd then put the wings on top and voila! It was a butterfly.

I remember having such a blast making them!
And how much I loved mixing in the food coloring.

As I was sitting in the garden today watching a soft-colored sunset I found myself reflecting on shades that blend into and influence one another.

Beyond shades of colors, I've found the same to be helpful with felt qualities in experiences that we can then, like food coloring, infuse into other experiences.

(Disclaimer: this is obviously not a cure-all, and yet it's a lot more powerful than most of us would expect given how simple it seems. I've seen time and time again both personally and as a clinician how powerful something this simple can be).

When I'm feeling down, or scared, or constricted, or frustrated I often feel like the loudness of that emotional experience takes over and makes it feel like this is all there is in that given moment.

But when we drop a drop or two of food coloring into the water of that experience (ex: a felt experience of space or laughter or excitement), it starts to color it a little differently.

And when it's something thicker than water, then it might take a few extra drops and a little more blending.

So that instead of the challenge being all we're feeling, it becomes what we're feeling but accompanied with a reminder that we're capable of feeling other things too.

Not to bypass the experience or invalidate it, but as a supporting resource that keeps us going in the face of difficulty.

All feelings are transient if we drop our resistance to them.

Obviously much easier said than done, but like all muscles we train, gets a lot more doable with a bit of practice.)

I often find the sensation of the breeze, the sound of waves, the sight of expansive water, or the shades of color in the sky infuse some of their qualities into me the minute I step out into them.

So, my invitation for reflection today is:
What shades of feelings would be helpful for you to reconnect to right now? How can you create a drop or two of them to infuse into whatever challenge you're experiencing?