No form of identification is worth any more importance than the mere visual representation for its due recognition, whether it is flowers, spices, colours or skin. Anything more than that is but brutal discrimination.
All that exists in its glory and neutrality is what I call brown “space”. Everything in our world holds a little bit of brown. It gives us a sense of being “one”; united and connected, regardless of distance or identity. While all of that is glorifying, the colour brown itself, is a unique blend in the realm of colours. It is a mixture of warm and cool, primary and secondary pigments that give us a distinct, neutral, tertiary colour. If the colour is darkened, it is a shadow; if it’s lightened, it turns into a nude. The dance of the tints and shades symbolizes a brown life.
A brown life, if ever emerged from the dark, glows- and glows in all shades of bold and beautiful. The inner beauty and core strengths shine through- the brownness fades out.
A question arises. Does a brown social, emotional and psychological space exist?
The answer is, yes and no.
As most people see it, a brown life is highly emotionally-driven, socially charged, and psychologically challenged, leaving little to no room for freedom of expression and living. There is a social, emotional and psychological space that exists in a brown life, almost like another universe, where decisions are based more on emotions than on logic or rationality, where social boundaries are not limited to social unions, where psychological beliefs are deep-rooted and disorders are not openly spoken about.
For long, brown has been associated with negativity and enslavement. It is believed that “being brown skinned” brings hardships and sorrows. The belief is so deep-rooted that little has been done to break the norm in a brown life. Yet being brown skinned is an accusation in a brown life.
That’s one side of the picture.
A brown social, emotional and psychological space does not exist or can conveniently cease to exist.
The brown life has most to do with past and present experiences, decisions and lifestyle. Agreeably, some occurrences are negative and have taken place based on being brown. But that does not imply it is true for all. So,
Why does a brown emotional, social or psychological space even exist?
Because we allow it to exist and we dwell in it.
Will the brown space ever dissolve or cease to exist?
It will, if we choose to. If we stop drawing boundaries that belittle a brown life altogether and limits the potential. Truthfully, it may never be fully dissolved, but the lines around the brown space could effectively be dimmed.
Brown is a blend of self-doubt, submissiveness, unparalleled tenacity, courage and beauty. And strangely enough, each trait acts as a cornerstone of strength in its own entirety.
There is a bit of brown in every individual out there. Not only in the form of skin pigment, but in terms of mind and heart. If and when the brown within is ever unleashed, the brown space dissolves and the horizon expands.
It has little to do with the colour; the brown space exists in the mind. It is a space we have chosen to create for comfort. We often fail to realize that if comfort becomes uncomfortable, we need to expand or dissolve that space. The brown space may have been idealized for comfort, but it fails to provide so, how about we let it go? What if the brown space never existed to begin with? Because in the end it is just a belief.
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Arifa H. Sidhpurwala is a certified Action coach and therapist, based in Pakistan. She helps people that are lost or stuck in life, to take action and live the life they want. She also writes books and websites for coaches and consultants. When she’s not working, you’d find her making jokes, sipping tea or writing poetry.