“Why do two colors, put one next to the other, sing? Can one really explain this? no. Just as one can never learn how to paint.”
? Pablo Picasso

We are a people hungry for color. The gray of these March days has started to burrow in and become another layer of skin we’d like to shed. It has been several days since the sun has been visible and the only disturbance of the monochromatic sky comes from a stray snowflake fluttering in the breeze. Color. Any color will do. Just take us out of our browns, blacks and grays and let us see a glimpse of some brilliant and bright hue. Please!

It is that time of a Minnesota winter when the dreariness has lingered too long. Snow piles are brown and ugly. You hear people make unbelievable statements like: “I just wish it would snow to clean this place up!” Here we are wishing for more snow to try to move us out of this grayness.

I wasn’t exactly thinking about the dreariness yesterday as I was driving into the office. But I found myself on the river road near the University of Minnesota. Generally people had their “it’s a gloomy day again” face on as they moved along to their destination. Most, myself included, also had that dazed look of a daylight saving time hangover. It is a rough week trying to rewire our circadian rhythms, isn’t it?

But moving along among all the uniformed blacks and browns, emerged a tall, lanky young man with an enormous smile on his face. He was making his way across the Franklin Avenue bridge with a gait that said “What a beautiful day!” I noticed him first for his energy. But then I took in the whole picture. Long, thin legs were housed in bright red and blue plaid loose pants, maybe even pajamas. They were worn with a green army jacket. Atop his tossed hair flying in the frigid breeze was a bright cap that looked as if it had dinosaur horns, again a bright red and blue. Riding on his back he carried a lovely multicolored backpack, striped and designs using all the colors of the rainbow. He moved along, a song of joy in the requiem that surrounded him.

Seeing him lifted my spirits. He gave me the inspiration to forsake my usual black or browns and to choose more colorful clothes this morning. Instead of mirroring the landscape, why not go against it? Why not try to anticipate the spring that is certainly on its way? It was bright blue and green for me today.

As I was thinking about all this color, I also have one ear on the news of those who are watching for black or white smoke. The process of choosing a new pope is fascinating especially to those of us who only know this tradition from observation. All the layers and centuries of ritual and meaning making unfolding before us in a world to which the clothing and behaviors seem so foreign. And yet here we all are watching for a stream of smoke that will mark a change that could affect the lives of many. Fascinating.

Black. White. Red. Blue. Gray. Brown.There is no promise of a break in the weather any time soon so the gray will linger a while longer. Perhaps our job is to provide a hint or two at what is to come. It may not be too early to pull out a bit of color and shock the dreary system into waking up. While we are waiting for black or white smoke, it might not be a bad idea to throw in a little color.

You know you want to.