Mindfulness · weekly

Capturing rainbow.

Every week I pick one colour and hunt for it in the wild. The point is to pause and be present in the physical space around me.

The rules are simple: one colour a week, no chasing perfect angles, just noticing. Friends suggest the next colour, and a few have started hunting along with me. Next up: purple, to finish the rainbow.

Week 5 · late October

Blue dreams

A deep blue cage structure at the Children’s Museum in Ottawa. A small rainbow of light on the carpet by my feet. A long-exposure shot of an acrobat under blue stage light. Pergola the cat hiding in a blue shopping bag instead of the cat tower. A long-exposure light trail of my handmade whale costume. A pale blue Vespa scooter parked by a fence. A blue playground outfit and blue stepping stones at the park. A box of vitamin D drops in blue and yellow. A navy blue house under a pale blue sky. A bright blue wall with a yellow pipe in the Glebe. A spider on a turquoise pool floaty. Blue mugs lined up on a wooden shelf. My abstract painting of swirling blue, yellow and purple strokes. The striped blue and white Cirque du Soleil tent against a blue sky.

Edited with zero AI, just for fun. A cage at the Children's Museum in Ottawa, a long-exposure shot of my handmade whale costume, a blue house that felt cozy, a blue wall with a bright yellow pipe in the Glebe, the Cirque du Soleil tent, and one of my own paintings about the chaos in my brain.

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Week 4 · mid-October

Green

Sheep grazing in a green field under a big blue sky at Upper Canada Village. A fluffy white dog lying on the grass at the dog park. A moss-green plush bunny held up to the camera. A wild rabbit sitting on the lawn in front of two cedar shrubs. Green daisy-patterned planners on a desk next to a disco ball. Two small kids, seen from behind, running across a wide green lawn. A toddler, seen from behind, climbing onto a big green tractor. An orange ladybug resting on a bright green shirt. A country lane past a green field and an old oak tree. A package wrapped in brown paper with green tape and hand-drawn black circles. A pear tree heavy with green pears.

Just in time to catch the last green trees before orange took over. Sheep at Upper Canada Village, a real bunny visiting our yard, my current planners, kids running through a friend's yard, a ladybug on my green shirt, and a pear tree.

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Week 3 · early October

Yellow

A wall of yellow gumball machines in an art installation. A case of bright yellow lemons at a grocery store. A family of three plush teddy bears. A freshly painted yellow front door. A yellow plush bunny sitting on a shelf. A sunflower head resting on top of a bird feeder. Yellow fall leaves scattered across the pavement. An old yellow phone case with a green marker autograph. A yellow paint chip held up over a shopping cart. Golden sunlight on a riverbed, seen from a paddleboard. A yellow café patio with picnic tables and smiley-face windows. Yellow dandelion-like flowers on a weathered wooden deck. An iced yellow drink on a restaurant table.

A gumball-machine art installation, a case of lemons on sale, a bear family for a friend expecting their first, our freshly spruced-up front door, a sunflower on the bird feeder, fall leaves, a pricey Jellycat bunny my dog ate for breakfast, and a Boombox autograph on my old HTC phone.

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Week 2 · Oct 1

Orange

A record store with an orange wall of framed concert photos and crates of vinyl. A blazing orange maple tree beside a roof with solar panels. A close-up of espresso swirling through an iced drink. A hand-sewn orange felt banner with a white letter H and leaves. A curving wooden staircase under a glass skylight, glowing orange. A washing machine wrapped in fairy lights in a museum installation. Orange Every Child Matters shirts hanging on a black fence. Mango, an orange tabby cat, in the grass. An orange sunset over fields on the drive home. A sparkling orange juice with ice and a lemon slice. A jar of country garden honey from a farm stand. The porch goose in his witchy outfit beside small pumpkins.

Fall made this one easy: 36 photos, cut down to 12. A record store I stumbled on while wandering downtown with no agenda, espresso with orange juice (apparently a Ukrainian thing), a pop-up museum about the war in Ukraine, an Every Child Matters moment on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, farm-stand honey that tasted like the Ukrainian countryside, and our porch goose in his witchy outfit.

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Week 1 · late September

Red

A little red vintage Mini parked on a wooden boardwalk. A vintage red Coca-Cola sign on a general store. Red and black striped jars labelled Love and Microwave. A red farm sign beside a cornfield. A red sign on a fence: If you ate today, thank a farmer. A crate of freshly picked red apples on the grass; a child’s face is covered by an apple emoji. Red ribbon on a white gift box. A red handle inside a car door. Anna in a flowing red dress, taking a mirror selfie.

Where it started. I wanted to pay more attention to the world than to my screen, so I gave myself one colour and a week to find it. Not for pretty shots, just for noticing. By the end, friends were already voting on the next colour.

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