The Color of Our Surroundings

📷 Adobe Stock

I was on a ladder yesterday tending to a Japanese Red Maple when I saw a little gecko peeking at me from underneath the gutter on my house. I said “Hi, little guy, whatcha doing up there?”

He was in an animated position, body out, head up, like he was reaching for the sun. He had changed himself to a dark gray to match the trim on the house. After a bit, I noticed he wasn’t moving from his position at all, for, he wasn’t alive. I think he became pinched underneath the gutter at some point, and couldn’t pull himself out, although, it looked as if he tried with all his might. I wish I had seen him mid-struggle, because I would have helped the little guy, It made me sad.

It got me thinking, how we become stuck within a moment in our lives, and try as we might, we have difficulty pulling ourselves out of our perceived despair. Whether its bad relationships, jobs, addictions, societal expectations, (insert yours here), sometimes we can’t see that if we just wiggle a tiny bit more, we will be free of what burdens us. So, instead, we change. We change to match the situation, to lessen the struggle, to fit in. We dull our vibrant selves to become the color of our surroundings, so as not to draw attention, to not be noticed.

In dimming our own light, we grey, not just ourselves, but the world around us. We were created to be an inspiration, a beacon, a teacher—to be our vibrant selves. When we blend, we disappear. And if we knew that—really knew that, would we? Maybe if the little gecko was green against the grey, I would have seen him sooner, before his demise.

Don’t blend in with the color of your surroundings out of fear. Shine as brightly as you can—be the beacon, the rainbow, the inspiration, you were created to be. And if you are struggling, reach out, for there is someone on a ladder, wanting to help you through.