Broken Crayons Still Color
CRAYON: A stick of colored wax used for drawing on paper.
We are not a stick of wax, but not unlike a broken Crayon; people can be viewed or can view themselves as broken. In a way, we are all crayons, some with our wrappers peeled and others damaged from the impact of life in the crayon box. At times we may get broken, but we must never forget we all choose to continue to color the most vibrant of pictures essential to our quality of life. We all can color the world more beautiful than a rainbow.
To reference a book by Roger Schank, “Coloring Outside The Lines,” he reveals some lively and somewhat shocking facts that shatter the myths about how children learn. Schank’s book offers straightforward advice for parents who want to raise kids with intuition, creativity, curiosity, and verbal proficiency. So, how does one learn to color outside the lines? Perhaps words from the great Dr. Suess can set you on an excellent path to start the process, “Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”
My favorite quote from The Greatest Showman: “Putting folks of all kinds on stage with you. All colors, shapes, and sizes. Presenting them as equals. Another critic might have even called it… ‘A celebration of humanity’” Everyone is here for a reason. We all see things differently, we all do things differently, we all experience things differently, and we all believe something different. It truly is a celebration of humanity.
My husband recently shared a story with me from his childhood. He was in kindergarten and was coloring, sitting at his round classroom table. On the table were big thick crayons of all colors. But rather than using a variety of colors, he chooses just one, the big red crayon. He went on to color the entire page red. Not only did he not color inside the lines by the time he had finished his coloring assignment, but there were also no lines to be seen, just a sea of red, corner to corner, edge to edge, which he says, made him happy. Quite to the contrary, his teacher, Mrs. Butters, was not so happy. Mrs. Butters was the kind of teacher where there was only one way to color a picture, and that way was to keep the colors inside the lines.
Fast forward many decades, over the years, my husband has dabbled in art. The pieces that have survived the trash bin are not dissimilar to that red blob he created in kindergarten. Some of the things he’s painted are pretty cool. To that point, I give him credit since he never gave in to the “inside the lines” paradigm.
As I look at how my husband and I view and do things, we definitely approach things differently. We own a business together; he focuses on the big picture, while I have a keen sense of detail. When it comes to literature, he likes nonfiction, whereas I love to read fiction. And, unlike my husband, I’m always trying to be a perfectionist, have always colored inside the lines.
As I write this blog, I realize we learn to think creatively more and more throughout our lives, and it’s okay to push yourself and color outside the lines. We sometimes need to step outside our comfort zone, outside the lines, and become free to play with our writing, our thoughts, and our words in a way that brings satisfaction to those efforts.
I strive to be creative, and I see unlimited possibilities. I promote creativity in my family and friends. I see family and friends as resources. If my crayons break while I do what I do, I will take those broken crayons and continue to color my world.
Color is vital to your health, according to a commercial I just watched. The ad talked about the colors of fruits and vegetables, but I see it as the importance of all colors in the world, even if we taste and see things differently.
If you are a crayon, what color are you?
