{"id":2562,"date":"2012-02-19T08:06:05","date_gmt":"2012-02-19T13:06:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/?p=2562"},"modified":"2012-02-19T08:06:05","modified_gmt":"2012-02-19T13:06:05","slug":"color-outside-the-lines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2012\/02\/color-outside-the-lines.html","title":{"rendered":"Color Outside the Lines"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Have you ever felt like a crayon that didn’t quite fit in to the Crayola box, no matter how much you wanted to? Your unique color and flavor\u00a0seemed weird instead. As a child\u00a0 with glasses, asthma and foot issues that required clunky, red orthopedic shoes, I had often felt like a differently colored crayon, outside the box and\u00a0 somehow, chameleon that I was, learned to blend in with the other crayons, so as not to feel left out. \u00a0Now as an adult, I revel in being unique and sometimes deliberately exaggerate the differences to stand out. I surround myself with riotously hued companions whose own eccentricities match or compliment my own. How tedious and bland\u00a0life would be if we were limited to black and white and shades of gray and yet there are many who, in an attempt to play it safe, do this and \u00a0miss out on so much vibrance.\u00a0 My lifestyle feeds this paradigm\u00a0richly. As I am writing these words, I am gazing around the room and take in images of a SARK poster called Living Juicy, a chakra print, teddy bears, a string of twinkle lights,,\u00a0\u00a0a fabric butterfly that hovers above\u00a0me,\u00a0 a window box image of a faerie that a friend brought back from a trip to Ireland a\u00a0 few years ago,\u00a0 heart shaped wind chimes, vision boards that have helped me call in my dreams and desires, my massage table, a sun mask with sun glasses perched on it\u00a0 (“My future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades.”), a\u00a0 white plume feather that I received a few years back from a member of a Mummer’s parade string band when we both volunteered at an event sponsored by Gilda’s Club, bookshelves filled with other people’s inspirational words,\u00a0\u00a0(I collect books like some women collect shoes, with more of them than any other type of object in my home)and\u00a0photographs of loved ones, including my parents, beaming out at me.\u00a0 Listening to my Saturday morning ease-into-my-day music on a program called Sleepy Hollow on WXPN.<\/p>\n

I grew up in a silly family who sang goofy songs, with parents who danced in the kitchen (even into their 80’s), who played with us as if they hadn’t forgotten, mom\u00a0tossing jacks and dad shooting marbles on the floor…the consensus was that my dad took us\u00a0 kite flying because he had missed out on that activity when he was young. They set an example for out of the box interaction and to this day, I hear people’s stories about how cherished they were\/are.\u00a0 They embraced diversity and taught us to do the same. Among their circle of friends, they welcomed folks from various countries and faith traditions, abilities and socio-economic backgrounds. They took us to multi-cultural events; the World’s Fair in NY two years in a row in the 1960’s bring with it cherished memories. I was watching family home movies a week or so ago and with delight, took in the images of us dancing with Keystone Cops and at the Indian pavilion where the raven haired women were fascinated with my sister Jan’s bright red curls. As a result, my own overlapping soul circles celebrate diversity as well, coming from different ‘walks of life’, hailing from around the world. Some friends walk on their own, some with a cane, others wheel themselves from place to place. Some are deaf, some blind. Each has their unique way of viewing life and interacting with it.<\/p>\n

What colors do you bring to the canvas of life?<\/p>\n

Are you willing to color outside the lines?<\/p>\n

How can you create yourself as your own masterpiece worthy of gallery lighting?<\/p>\n

Can you transform ‘different’ to ‘unique’ and ‘weird’ to ‘out of the ordinary’?<\/p>\n

http:\/\/youtu.be\/o7YMuYs8VWs<\/a> Don’t Laugh At Me by Peter, Paul and Mary<\/p>\n

www.xpn.org<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Have you ever felt like a crayon that didn’t quite fit in to the Crayola box, no matter how much you wanted to? Your unique color and flavor\u00a0seemed weird instead. As a child\u00a0 with glasses, asthma and foot issues that required clunky, red orthopedic shoes, I had often felt like a differently colored crayon,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":233,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,1,2,13,70,33,19,94,49,22,14,4,16,38],"tags":[1477,1478,1479,1474,1475,1476,1245,1244,910,1170,62],"class_list":["post-2562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-affirmations","category-attracting-what-you-desire","category-bliss","category-blissfull-thinking","category-community","category-creativity","category-empowerment","category-family","category-friendship","category-healing","category-how-to-invite-bliss","category-inspiration","category-my-personal-bliss","category-transformation","tag-chakra","tag-crayola","tag-crayons","tag-dont-laugh-at-me","tag-gildas-club-mummers-parade","tag-living-juicy","tag-paul-and-mary","tag-peter","tag-sark","tag-sleepy-hollow","tag-wxpn"],"yoast_head":"\nColor Outside the Lines - The Bliss Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2012\/02\/color-outside-the-lines.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Color Outside the Lines - The Bliss Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"  Have you ever felt like a crayon that didn’t quite fit in to the Crayola box, no matter how much you wanted to? 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She has also contributed to several anthologies and personal growth books. Edie has interviewed such notables as Ram Dass, Wayne Dyer, Debbie Ford, don Miguel Ruiz, don Miguel Ruiz, Jr. Marianne Williamson, Grover Washington, Jr. Noah Levine, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Weaver, Ben and Jerry and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She calls herself an Opti-mystic who sees the world through the eyes of possibility. 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