Let’s Go for a Color Walk

Yesterday I found myself feeling... overwhelmed, stagnant, stressed and wanting to release some of this excess energy and friction.

So? I went for a walk. A Color Walk.

Stepping out of the door, I noticed some purple blooms from my neighbors’ yard dangling over the sidewalk. Their color, a bit muted, felt calming to take in. To stand there for a moment, just appreciating their beauty, began to help me settle a bit and start my walk from a less frantic headspace.

And that’s why color walks are such an effective grounding tool - they refocus your mind from internal thoughts to your environment. You can momentarily set down whatever thoughts or worries are occupying your mind and energy, and turn them to lovelier, or at least more neutral things.

Eye on the prize: Purple.

I really enjoyed the fact that purple was not abundantly everywhere that I walked. It nudged me to really notice and find varying hues in unexpected places: graffiti, roses that faded from a vivid pink to a light purple, a discarded supplement bottle…. a dog’s poop bag! I found appreciation for flowers and plants that I easily would have overlooked had this not been a color walk.

I maybe walked for 20 minutes? It was starting to get dark so I made my way home feeling so much more relaxed, grateful and at ease.

Living in Texas, I begin to dread the summer heat and I hope that making more of my walks color walks may serve as a nice distraction or reframe for my mind. Focusing on a little scavenger hunt rather than how uncomfortable the heat makes me. Finding appreciation for the beauty around me rather than wanting my walk to end as soon as it begins.

I find that color walks work best when I’m walking solo, but have also found myself keeping tabs on colors when I’m out walking my dog Ginger too! It’s fun to observe how quickly the environments change, and to pause and appreciate their beauty.

Have you tried color walks?

What color would you choose next?

xx