Reflecting on The Color of 2016
Remember your first time interacting with a box of crayons? I don’t precisely, but I can only imagine my fascination with the meaning behind each hue and shade. Why is this color named this way? Why does purple look great with pink?
If you explore the world of design, color considerations can become incredibly complex.
Trends find their way into all forms of design due to complexity, but I have found a unique reflection in the trending color of 2016.
The color-of-the-year award is an annual tradition that gets people talking about color, and the Pantone Color Institute collaborates with tastemakers in all areas of design to push its trend forecasts on the masses.
2016 is unique because calling it “colors” of the year is more accurate. For the first time, Pantone chose two unique colors.
I found great meaning while reading the context on choosing two colors for the first time:
As consumers seek mindfulness and well-being as an antidote to modern day stresses, welcoming colors that psychologically fulfill our yearning for reassurance and security are becoming more prominent. Joined together, Rose Quartz and Serenity demonstrate an inherent balance between a warmer embracing rose tone and the cooler tranquil blue, reflecting connection and wellness as well as a soothing sense of order and peace.
How beautiful and mindful is the purpose of these coexisting colors?
I couldn’t help but find so many parallels with a lot of my recent spiritual thinking and practice. There are a lot of modern day stresses, and I see a great need for all of us to seek balance. We must find moments to halt our external stimulants and get back to the serenity within. It would benefit all of us to match our passions with reflection just like Rose Quartz has been matched with Serenity. The world’s problems could be better solved if we have a balance of perspectives contributing to the solution rather than one concrete intellect. These two colors create a partnership that extends beyond their individual reach.
This reflection is about balance and serenity.
Today’s warrior reflection:
“She has experienced unconditional wakefulness, free from ego. Because she always has access to that unconditioned space, she is never subject to the confusion or sleepiness of selfishness, at all. She is totally awake.
When the warrior views the world around him, he knows that all humans beings possess basic goodness and that they are entitled to realize the principle of their own genuineness, at least.”
Excerpt From: Chögyam Trungpa. “Shambhala.”
I chose this quote because it references powerful traits connected to both the feminine and masculine. Just like the color(s) of the year, both the female and male warrior provide a beautiful balance of connection and wellness. Both are necessary and allow the other’s meaning to become more enhanced. The beauty of our world isn’t determined by specific items that draw our attention. Rather, the allure is actually contributed to the connection and equilibrium of the item’s surroundings it coexists with.
I challenge you to start seeing the importance of balance in your life like the balance of colors. How are you balancing the colors of your emotions and actions? How are you coexisting with others in the world?
Perhaps a better question is,
What are going to be the colors of your 2016?
