Blossoms of the Royal Poinciana
It’s been raining — thank YOU! But even if the days are a bit wet these brilliant red-orange blossoms of Summer bring delight! Colors do bring joy. That’s why I bought some zinnias for my car port pot garden. Joy is important. Beauty is important.
And living in Hawaii, beauty is all around me. Actually, the world seems amazingly full of beauty. It just comes in a variety of colors and shades. I remember how hard it was for me as a child to move from the green of the Bay Area down to the browns of Los Angeles. Green is so easy to appreciate.
Appreciating shades of greys and browns requires a more nuanced pallet. And the coastal June gloom of California requires a bit of effort. I remember on one grey day — a friends saying to me: “I KNEW you’d wear your red skirt, today!” What a wonderful step forward it was when artificial dyes made color accessible to ordinary folks.
Hmmm. Not so wonderful when they put dyes in “food products!” Still, God, I’m glad I’m living right now! It’s true we haven’t figured out how to clean up after ourselves — or better yet, live without poisoning the planet!
Part of what makes that so hard is the amazing array of colors and choices spread out before us. Consuming less is like eating less. And our obesity epidemic makes it painfully clear just how hard choosing wisely is — both for ourselves and for our world.
Please help me, God. I need Your Help. And I hear: SMALL STEPS. VALUE SMALL STEPS! MAKE SMALL CHANGES!
Story teller,
A Moment with God 
Well, June gloom has carried through to August here in the southland. Fortunately, God brings the colors to me every morning!