GREY    4/26/24

I had a dream in which the color grey appeared over and over in different forms. It was potent enough that I knew there was a message in it. When I woke up, I thought about how this color has played an odd and surprising role in the past five years.

It began in Denver when I lost my two cats. We had been together for over twenty years, and they passed away from kidney disease. Even with my advancing age, I knew I could not live without a cat in my home. I asked a friend who worked in a shelter to keep an eye peeled for a brightly colored female kitten.

COINCIDENCES

• While I was waiting for ‘kitten season’ I saw an advertisement for a woven wool cat cave. Of all the colors, I was drawn to the grey one. I ordered it.
• My friend found a pair of kitten siblings, a male and female who had been found abandoned and brought to the shelter. They were grey. I adopted both.
• I was looking at towels and spied plush grey ones. Easier to keep looking fresh, I thought. I bought them.
• Then I decided to move north of Denver to be closer to the barn where my horse lived and found a house with big windows and great light. I bought it. It was painted five different shades of grey.

After the dream, I contemplated the meaning of ‘grey’-a color found in the span between black and white. Which brought me to what I call black and white or duality thinking, which is when we make a negative judgement about people or situations. With this mental process we can place ourselves in a superior position to those we judge, keeping us separate and safe. Conversely, when we deem others as ‘better than,’ we can feel ‘less than’ and resentful.

Beyond the concepts, I knew it was time to reflect on where I succumb to being judgmental. I had to look at my opinions and realized I had some that needed to be explored. My challenge now is to catch myself, in the moment, and ask, “what is the purpose of this unkind thought?” “Is there another way to see this person or situation?”

I hope I can shift my awareness and land in kindness and knowing that we are all the same underneath. That we all are doing the best we can with what we know. This acceptance is also known as love. In love, there is no separation.

Please wish me luck with this task – it will take some time.

P.S.

In anticipation of writing this piece, I turned to the deck of The Wild Unknown Archetypes* to choose one as a guide. Out popped “The Mother” card. The authors description of this universal energy is:

“The Mother contains both the light and dark aspects of the feminine. The mother both nurtures and prohibits growth. She gives, yet clings. She creates yet restricts. Amidst this complex energy, the mother holds the key to the eternal challenge of love.”

*Archetypes Guidebook by Kim Krans

Love and Blessings