10 Healing Color: Green

* Since the major part of visual information concerns colors, landscape colors influence our mood to a considerable degree, whether or not we are aware of this. In the season of fresh greenery, green foliage consoles our tired minds. We become encouraged by burgeoning green buds in the trees that have endured the coldness of winter. They tell us that spring has come, assuring us of the majestic power of the nature and its annual cycles. I understand that in tropical countries with green foliage and colorful flowers all the year around, people are not so much impressed by the fresh greenery as we are in Japan. Japanese often compare their lives to seasonal changes and plants' lifecycles. For instance, we have such sayings as "Flowers bloom only after painstaking work," and "Fruits are the results of tremendous efforts." * While walking along a street, we sometimes stop to gaze at a weed growing in the niche of the concrete pavement. On such a moment, a tiny, unknown flower imparts to us strong vitality, inspiring us to rise again.

Seeking Comfort

* Green, reminding us of natural forests, and provides us with comfort and relaxation. Moreover, the color is associated with sympathy and compassion, and is effective in healing mental fatigue. If you are suffering from insomnia, cover your bed with a grass green sheet. You will feel as if you were lying amid a spacious grassy field; the color will put you into a hypnotic state, making you more and more relaxed and sleepy. After thorough relaxation, you will find yourself thoroughly refreshed and enlivened. * In Japan, the past several years have seen the "gardening boom." I understand that underlying this boom is a subconscious desire for comfort and healing. We find joy in simple processes of gardening: digging the ground, planting seedlings, watering, and observing the plants grow. I hope that gardening will not fade out like many other past fashions, but will be firmly implanted in our lifestyles as a means of self development.

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