The Title
Don’t get me wrong; I love the old black-and-white films. In fact, some of my favorite movies are in black and white: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (with James Stewart), Arsenic and Old Lace (with Cary Grant), and A Night in Casablanca (The Marx Brothers). Even Citizen Kane, which is widely considered the greatest movie of all time, was filmed in black-and-white.
There’s just something about black-and-white films that simultaneously gives them a nostalgic yet timeless feel. In a good black-and-white film, the use of lighting, dramatic acting, and directive creativity compensate for the lack of color.
When it comes to movies, I enjoy them in both color and black-and-white, but I prefer the black-and-white. When it comes to life, however, I would much rather live in color.
In three different ways, here’s what I mean:
First, I believe that as an aspect of God’s creation, color exists to bring glory to Him. If I were to ignore the soft blend of colors in a sunset, the bright splashes of color in a fall scene, or the variety of colors that appear in a handful of wildflowers, not only would I be missing out on something great, I would also be withholding something from God that He deserves: my worship and praise.
Likewise, my life exists to bring glory to God. Sometimes the color may be there but I choose to ignore it and live in black-and-white, selling God short, focusing on what is trivial and depriving myself of what is important.
Second, I’d like to point out that black, grey, white, and many darker colors are often associated with dreariness, depression, or negativity, while colorfulness and brighter colors are associated with positivity, happiness, and inspiration. I’d much rather be defined by the latter.
Third, going back to the analogy of films, black-and-white is often used within a color movie to represent a fantasy or dream, while color represents reality. I don’t want to live in a dream world where I think about doing things but don’t actually do them or where I’m too afraid to face reality so I just make up my own “real.” People are defined by what they do, not what they think. And trust me, false realities & dream worlds created as escapes from the real world aren’t as great as they seem.
Dorothy, the main character in The Wizard of Oz got this concept a bit backwards. Her reality was in black-and-white and when she dreamed about being “over the rainbow,” her world was suddenly in color. At the end of the story, she realized the importance of what she had in reality and went back.
I wonder if maybe sometimes I get this backwards too. I think that I am living in black-and-white and dream of living in color, when really I’m just not seeing things correctly and need to appreciate and work with what I have.
The Purpose
So, like an old black-and-white film being colorized, I want the colorless pieces of my life—the emptiness, the apathy, the laziness, the selfishness—to be transformed into brilliant colors of fulfillment, passion, drive, and sacrifice. Instead of getting stuck in the colorless past, I want to push forward into a colorful future, and I’m inviting you, daring you to join me.
That’s what this blog is about: living life in color. The purpose is to provide content that will inspire and assist you, the reader, in transforming and living your life in color.
I am a Christian and will be writing from a Christian perspective, but not solely for Christians. In other words, I hope that people of any religion (or even no religion for that matter) will find it inspiring.
