Shades of Gray, Reprise

Gray symbolizes: Sorrow, security, maturity, neutrality
Gray is the color of sorrow. People who favor gray can be the lone wolf type or narrow-minded. Gray with more silver in it can be a very active color.
Native Americans associate gray with friendship. Gray is the symbol for security, maturity and dependability. It connotes responsibility and conservative practicality.
Gray Energy
Gray is the true neutral color. Its energy imparts void, emptiness, lack of movement, emotion, warmth and identifying characteristics. Because of this, gray can be restful. It has a detached and isolated feeling. Gray can have a cooling effect when placed next to other more vibrant colors. It has a stabilizing effect, making vibrant colors stand out while muting their vibration.

Both Sides Now
Joni Mitchell has always been a little bit too Bell Jar for me, but the great Neil Diamond does a wonderfully less melancholy version of Both Sides. It is much more I am, I said and much less "life is so hard." I supposed my shades of gray were just a phase, and I found proof in the music.

Well something’s lost, but something’s gainedIn living ev’ry day

When you have seen clouds from both sides, how do you choose which one is right? It is wonderful to imagine ice cream castles, but if you are headed to the beach, you want to see the sun. There is beauty in a untamed horse but for some reason people want them tamed. Or at least, they want to be the one to tame them. And it is wonderful to be a child who believes in fairies and all things sweet, but to a great extent most people cannot build a life on that. It is a fine line between protecting innocence and preparing for the future.
Don't get me wrong, I still don't think parenthood is that hard. Babyhood, yes. Parenthood, no. Maybe it is because I have a fabulous co-parent and a family friendly job. Or years of preparation. I just don't think every child grows up to need a shrink. Maybe cause I've been the shrink. Maybe I am not hugely sympathetic to the woes of the people because I know there are many who are much worse off. MUCH! But I am just babbling. Most ofthis blog is babble. Just an excuse to express that I really like Neil Diamond's version of Both Sides.
Anyway, while touring the mountains of Georgia, I got to thinking of the value of music. It can teach us our ABC's, it can teach us to sing, it can teach us our heads & shoudlers and knees and toes and it can remind us to breath. It can develop our minds and it can soothe our souls.
In one of my graduate classes we had to select 3 songs that we found to be therapeutic. One of mine was Everybody's Got a Mountain to Climb. It was appropriate for my life at the time, when I was working to both climb mountains physical and metaphorical. Music can tell us we're not alone. It can make us feel better. It can remind us we are part of a bigger picture.
So, I say, Turn It Up!
And by the way, am I the only one who didn't know Long May You Run was about a car?