Colour your world

There is an important link between colour and mood. Work is a serious activity, for example, so it seems to be important to wear black or other dark colours. Walk through a business district at lunch time and you will see what I mean. Office clothes are mainly black, and this is offset by white shirts or blouses. Black is also the colour commonly worn by older people in Mediterranean countries and, especially by those who have lost a partner. Needless to say, black is also associated with illness and death.

For those who like to avoid ‘dark’, but are not confident about their use of colour, their choice is ‘something neutral’ – beige, grey, off-white, cream, perhaps pale khaki. A way to fade into the background, if that is what you wish.

But retirement is the time to be bold, when one can wear a variety of colours without caring about what others will think. When you rise each morning, decide: Do I feel purple today; or bright green; maybe sunshine yellow? What about some flowers or fruit, or a few feathers? Where did you put that tie-dyed dress you bought in Bali, but never wore? And what about that Hawaiian shirt that’s hiding in the wardrobe?

You are probably aware that if you force yourself to smile, you will start to feel happy. So it is with colour. A happy colour can bring happiness to your day. And to others.

Be outrageous and colour your world, you know you deserve it!