Are You Living in Color?
What does this image invoke in you?
Kermit?
Dorothy?
Katy Perry?
This is what I see regularly outside my bedroom window here in Bermuda. And every time a rainbow lands in my morning coffee, a barrage of songs and contemplations runs through my brain.
Moving here has been very revelatory for me. And one of the biggest revelations I’ve had is how much it confirmed the effect light and color have on lifting the weight that so acutely impacts my mental health and overall sense of well-being.
As a proud New Yorker, it was with not a little bit of guilt that I left the city last November to spend what I hoped would be an enjoyable, but intensive career and life transition here, pursuing a Life Coaching certification remotely with IPEC. Guilt, because I’ve always felt responsible for my home town. Looking after The Men in Blue of the Doe Fund, the homeless and hungry in my local community, the out of school and out of work youth across the city and the preservation of its very character as the home for centuries of immigrants “yearning to breathe free”.
So “abandoning the city” (which was how it felt) ahead of the winter wave of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the chaos of January 6th, came with a lot of baggage. But I also knew my tendency towards SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) combined with a winter lockdown would potentially put me in the hospital again. So, I left.
And the first morning I woke up here, I really did feel like Dorothy waking up with my own Toto in Oz and seeing the world in full HD technicolor after a life of spending winter under the gray shadows of skyscrapers that keep climbing higher into the sky, no matter how many protests I join or petitions I run.
But it’s not just the brilliant colors and never-ending light of this little island that have made me sing every morning, it’s the people. The graciousness of the fishermen sharing the stories of their latest catch, the enthusiasm of the shopkeepers eager to bag your groceries or showcase their latest sea-glass jewelry, and the ministers on horseback wishing everyone good-day as they ride by on the railway trail every morning.
They’ve welcomed me in a way I’d never imagined and made me feel at home in a way that New York never has (as hard as that is for me to admit). I am home here. I am my truest self here. And wow does that feel amazing!
But next week, I leave… Not forever, as I’ve amazingly found an unexpectedly rich source of colorful clientele here who can’t wait for me to come back. But my heart is breaking a bit as the weight and responsibility of returning to a “gray New York” begins to creep back.
I’m sure many of you have felt this way when returning from a particularly wonderful vacation, and perhaps, some of you are also facing the dreaded “return to the office” after learning to enjoy your pajama wearing days of all-day Zoom meeetings.
So, I’ve decided to keep what I’ve learned from my experience here with me, and I hope you’ll be able to do the same, whatever the next challenging step you have to take is.
I’ll dress in all the brilliant tones of the rainbow,
I’ll smile and greet every day and person with the light and enthusiasm they deserve.
I’ll live in full color, regardless of what color the sky is.
Holly Lynch is a 20+ year communications veteran and life-long social impact advocate and strategist who has helped individuals, educational leaders, and companies tackle the toughest challenges in their worlds.
Having survived countless life setbacks and two rounds with terminal cancer, while seeing the country-wide collapse of the systems and safety nets for the most vulnerable in and outside our communities, she is now shifting her life and career trajectories to focus on coaching those facing down fundamental shifts and transitions as they try to navigate and rebuild their lives, institutions and businesses during these unprecedented times.