Pixie in Paradise

In my experience we are drawn to certain styles, foods, types of people, belief systems and even colors, at various stages of our lives. My favorite colors over the course of almost 30 years went from red to periwinkle blue to gray and now to green. Interestingly, I had recently been very happy wearing shades of orange and deeper golden yellows which I found so odd, because I really disliked yellow for the longest time. I still don’t want it on the walls in a house but I am able to happily wear shades of it as clothing items. 

In October, before my first trip away from Belize to Costa Rica and Panama, DahRoot – the island fruit vendor and practicing Rastafarian – came through at the cafe where I was writing. He appeared frequently. It was part of his normal route to sell fruit in bulk to the cafe, no doubt why their smoothies were the best on the island. Luckily, this meant he would also sell me a few delicious, fresh pieces of fruit or peel a weird one I’d never heard of, for me to try. That is exactly how I fell deeply in love with Belizean golden plums (aka ambarella, aka golden apples).

While peeling fruit for me and packaging some up for others, we talked about our approaches to life and love, spirituality and such: you know, easy breezy topics. This was after he asked me what zodiac sign I was, and then out of the blue he said, “Green is your color, like your eyes and the ocean.” According to my birth certificate and driver’s license, my eyes are blue and I was looking out at the clearest, bluest water I’d ever seen.

That was almost three months ago and now instead of a very small island, I am living in a rainforest environment near a different beach, in another country. I am surrounded by different textures, shapes and colors of green that sprawl from treetops, to covering fences and walls. Even extending to the ocean, are deep long roots from the jungle plants, sometimes four to ten feet long. When the tide is strong and high, these green roots poke through the black sand on Playa Negra and get soaked by the sea water.

Here, even the ocean water has an iridescent green hue to it most days. It isn’t blue. I’ve described the Caribbean water on this beach as always looking like the color of a labradorite stone. It really does, and that’s been my favorite stone for years now. So it would seem that DahRoot, with an assist from the universe/god no doubt, revealed this seemingly non-vital information to me, yet it makes perfect sense now: now that I’m here in Costa Rica. But even before this, I opted to choose blue-green items to decorate my house with, for the last 15 years or more! It’s interesting to me now that what I thought was just a basic color preference or maybe items that went with a particular habitation, started following me to every single house that I would move to. All of the homes – at least seven or eight places I can think of – where I have brought Caribbean green or blue-green, ocean-colored dishes, towels, blankets and home decor items. The only reason I knew of why I surrounded myself with that color was that it made me feel calm and comfortable. And, it reminded me of the ocean which I desperately miss while living in the desert. Now I realize it’s a pretty normal color scheme to be drawn to if you’re a Wood element dominant person like me.

What color is associated with the wood element?

GREEN is the color of wood, the East and growth. It symbolizes vegetation, growth and vitality, and is therefore associated with life and nature. It is the color of peace, balance and ecology.

If we want to be especially nit-picky, the green color associated with the wood element is not quite the one we associate with St. Patrick’s day decorations. The Chinese 青 “Qing” is sometimes used to describe the color of aged bronze. This color actually comes from the “rust” that forms when copper reacts with oxygen in the air. Some translations call it “azure” or “blue-green”, and sometimes it is depicted as being more “blue” than “green” in color. The color of the Statue of Liberty in the United States is an example of “Qing”. 

Experts use colors to direct chi and create beneficial energy changes in certain areas of the home. This should have a positive impact on our wellbeing, relationships and productivity. When choosing colors, it is necessary to rely on the harmonious use of the five elements and their circular cycle. Each of the five basic elements has its own colors that, with the element, generate and spread energy, or chi.

• Wood- blue, green
• Fire – red
• Earth – yellow
• Metal – white, beige, silver
• Water – dark blue, black

(If you’re curious as to what element is most dominant in your body based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practice, and which organs are affected most in the body because of this and colors, behavior patterns, seasonal changes based on your elemental nature, you can find out by taking the quiz. And if you want to double check – because you have a similar personality to mine – take this longer quiz.).

I’ve even been wearing a lot of green lately. My favorite greens are moss and khaki hues. I’m not sure how that habit started but as my eyes were opened to the beauty of the verdant nature all around me, that color along with the sound of waves, became my calm and my comfort. When I departed for San Jose thinking I would not be back in Playa Negra for quite a while I even did a little emotional shopping. That short, inexpensive shopping spree still makes me feel better, I have no regrets! Can you guess what made me feel better? First, the purchase of a scarf and beanie hat because I was freezing my nuts off in that part of the country (higher elevation and that sucky wind), but then yes, green clothing. A chartreuse/olive-green short sundress, a small, backless army green t-shirt and a pair of unique green linen pants with a small cream embroidery pattern all over them, is what made me feel better while I was homesick for the southern part of Costa Rica where my place and cat reside. 

Before leaving Playa Negra I also did that photoshoot, trying to capture the beautiful green surroundings and the contrasting black beach. The amazing photographer captured it all, and me in the middle. Yes, green is my color and it means more than just something that looks good to my eyes. I feel that color in my heart and ironically green is the color for the heart – anahata – chakra (we’re moving from TCM to Indian Ayurveda, both Eastern methodologies for healing, and have some similar concepts and approaches):

In Sanskrit, “anahata” means unhurt, unstruck and unbeaten. It is the fourth primary chakra and serves as our center of love for oneself and others, compassion, empathy and forgiveness. The anahata chakra is associated with unconditional love, compassion, and joy. It is the source of deep and profound truths that cannot be expressed in words. Anahata is a bridge between the lower and upper chakras integrating the manifest with the spiritual, says yoga teacher Stephanie Snyder.

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Green is the color of life, renewal, nature, and energy. The color green has healing power and is the most relaxing color for the human eye to view. Green helps alleviate anxiety, depression, and nervousness. 

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It would seem that I went down a really steep rabbit hole while investigating the color green, so now we delve into the supernatural, or at least the mythological, depending on your particular perception of reality. 

A leprechaun is, “a diminutive supernatural being in Irish folklore, classed by some as a type of solitary fairy.” Basically, they’re known to be little shoemakers that supposedly have a hidden pot of gold. William Butler Yeats, a 19th century author spent considerable time writing about Irish folklore, such as leprechauns and fairies. In his book, Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry, he divided fairies into the Trooping Fairies and the Solitary Fairies. Trooping fairies live in communities and are known for singing and dancing, for wearing green and can be good or evil. (Keep in mind, I don’t sing). They may or may not be friendly to humans. Solitary fairies, who live on their own, are more likely to be harmful, and wear red. 

Female leprechauns are called fairies. Therefore, if we follow that convoluted supernatural woodland trail, yours truly is without a doubt a green dress wearing fairy. What I find so interesting is that in my late teens and early 20’s I loved to wear red. While I still did a lot of dancing like a Trooping fairy, I was a wee bit volatile at that age so I’d like to think I’ve fully evolved from a Solitary to a Trooping variety fairy.

Fairy, leprechaun, human, gypsy, whatever I am, I’m incredibly happy and content, very much at peace these days. Getting to see how another part of the world operations is magnificent and so valuable – not always easier. In fact, rarely easier, but for the most part so incredibly worth it! Maybe all of the recent comments I have been receiving from loved ones speak the truth, that I’m glowing or look so calm, and at peace. I truly am, and maybe the green surroundings have much more to do with it than we thought. Color therapy is a legitimate concept and I’ve known for years that the browns and reds of the desert were not what I wanted to look at. I’m currently being flooded with green color therapy and can’t get enough! This combined with the beautiful fauna in this part of the world is a natural prescription for happiness and joy, in my opinion. The amazing animal sightings are also doing their part: being 20 feet from a sloth in the wild was a surreal experience – and all of the cute domestic tame and stray Central American cats and dog interactions fill my heart. Daily walks through the lush plants and trees next to the beach are doing their part too. However, if anyone comes for me or tries to steal my shoes or kick a pot of gold out of this fairy, I will go Tantrum Tinkerbell on their ass. With love and light.