Dimming the Lights

I don't do well with sharp contrasts. I figured this out when I walking through our darkened den on the way to the kitchen to get my morning coffee as I was pondering the fact that I really needed to write something in my blog. We have those recessed pot lights in our den ceiling so I automatically reached over and twisted the dimmer switch to undimmer the lights as I passed by.

Some folks, my wife included, can watch TV or mess around on the computer in the dark. I can't. A single glowing screen is too abrupt, too sharp, and it grates on me.

Now that I am forced to think about it, and writing about it tends to do that, I can see that throughout my life.

I prefer pastels or muted colors rather than sharp colors. To me, bright reds or velvet greens or royal blues are garish. They seem to exist because they refuse to blend as if they insist on calling attention to themselves. A few years ago my wife was fussing over what color to paint our bedroom and bathroom after Hurricane Ike ruined them. She asked my advice and I answered the same way that I always do when she asks what color I think would work. "Gray", I said, "Go with gray." This time she didn't reject my idea out of hand. She spent a long time with some of those little color charts holding them up against the wall....all different shades of gray. We chose a light gray, with white trim around the walls and crown molding, and a white ceiling. When it was finished, she was ecstatic.

Next came the carpet, and guess what. Dark gray? It worked perfectly! Dark gray silk curtains and a light gray bedspread completed the look. And the bathroom? Naturally, dark gray walls and light gray marble. Perfecto!

"How did you come up with gray?" she asked. I think I pointed out that every time she asked me what color to paint something, I always said gray and it was always immediately rejected. But why gray? It blends. It works with all soft colors. It blends, and I am a blender.

I don't appreciate people with adamant views or proclamations of perfection or brightly colored cars or snazzy dressers or forceful personalities or being the center of attention. These are non-blenders.

I think I was stunned as I slowly began to realize as I was growing up that there were few absolute rights and wrongs. It was easier thinking of the world as black and white, right and wrong, true and false. It was harder to learn that life was made up of textures and shades. This forced me in to being an investigator.

In church as a youngster I kept hearing that Our Church was the pathway to salvation. This bothered me and so I decided to find out about this Church thing. In my digging around I found out that the root of the subject was the Greek work 'ekklesia', which mean 'those of common purpose'. Somewhere along the way it got translated to "kirk' and from there "Church". Isn't it interesting that when it became 'Church' it was suddenly a proper noun with a a meaning akin to "the select few". Using the original meaning one could say, "We are the church of guys that like to ogle girls" or "We are a church of bridge players." I presented my findings to my father expecting to be blasted. Instead he beamed and said, "Always question and search."

The connection? The little 'c' church blends. Church doesn't. My father bought me a Greek Interliner Bible...a book that showed the original Greek alongside the English, with root definitions all over the place. I studied and learned that Elders weren't originally positions of authority, but rather wiser people that were older that one should turn to for advice. I learned that Deacons wasn't a position, but simply someone who did something to help out. If I mowed the church lawn I was by definition "a deacon". The "Church" I belonged to underlined contrasts, but my research showed otherwise.

See what happens when you turn up the lights on the way to get your first cup of coffee? Little things make you ponder. Think about it. The best spies aren't dynamic and dashing James Bonds, they are the fat, bald headed guys that blend in and quietly go about their business. Look at what happens when you have two opposing adamant positions bitterly fighting in our government -- you have some of us looking longingly at Canada.

It is us blenders, those that prefer softer colors and try to avoid large gatherings and who appreciate the more mellow approach to life -- we are quietly working to save the world.

Oh. I just had another thought. I poured that cup of coffee this morning. Nice, dark and rich with no sugar or cream. The purity of non-blending. Boldness. Like Kennedy saying we will put a man on the moon within the decade. Like being forceful in standing up for what is right. Like.....naw, I'll stick with blending. 

My wife graded this blog a C, which sort of blends perfectly.