we recently decided on a new color palette for our house and had it painted. i swear, it was a more difficult decision than naming our children. they seemed to name themselves but the 'old lady' house refused to be forthcoming with any preference as to what colors she would like to spend the next decade in.
in the process of trying to choose colors, i got in the habit of checking out other old house colors on my walks around the neighborhood. there was a particular house i really liked. all cool blues and purple-ish greys. the owner was standing the yard as i walked by the other night. i stopped to tell her how much i liked it.
"uck", she said. "i hate green houses", gesturing her hose towards the house while she watered. "the sun and weather faded it to this green and i can't stand it." so, i'm thinking, this house is blue. i mean, clear-as-day blue. "it seems like a nice blue-ish color", i said all diplomatic-like. "what?! worst. green. ever.", she frowned.
so this got me thinking about times when i don't have a shade of doubt about my position. my recollection. my idea. my knowledge. i argued for hours about whether or not a coffee table was alive, for christ's sake. you know, you're having dinner with friends and your husband/friend/lover. later on, the two of you discuss something that was chatted about that evening. how can he remember it like that?! that's not the way it happened at all!
well, what if you're wrong?
what if it didn't happen any particular way and how we each experience it is the end-all accurate truth? what if i spent a lot less effort and time defending my perception and more time hearing how everyone else sees it? what if i'm nearly always wrong?
my neighbor walks in the door of a green house every evening after work. i walk by her blue house and wave while she waters. what color house do the folks across the street see in the morning as they have coffee? what color house does the mailman deliver to everyday?
you tell me.
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