Thursday Thoughts – Feeling Blue

What’s in a word? “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” says Juliet in Romeo and Juliet.

I have never questioned blue or the phrase ”feeling blue” before. The connection just feels …right. But, when I look it up in various dictionaries, the association has got many explanations. Here are some:

In Greek mythology, blue is associated with rain. When Zeus was sad or crying, he would make it rain. Thus, the connection between the colour and the feeling.

The use of blue to mean “sad” dates from the late 1300s

Geoffrey Chaucer used ‘blewe’ in his poem ”The Complaint of Mars”. He writes: ”Wyth teres blewe and with a wounded herte.”

Which basically translates to: ”With tears blue and with a wounded heart”.

A naval explanation might be the old custom followed by deepwater sailing ships – If the ship lost the captain or any of the officers during its voyage, she would fly blue flags and have a blue band painted along her entire hull when returning to home port.

A scientific explanation is the proximity of dark blue to black on the colour scale, and the results of two studies indicating that feeling sadness may actually change how we perceive colour.

But blue is beautiful. It is the colour of our planet Earth. The Blue Planet.

Thursday Thoughts – What Eyes Can Tell

At the Light Move Festival in September, there were astonishing light shows in the evenings. But daytime, we walked all over the city, enjoying the people and the festive feeling in every corner of the main streets.

I met many lovely people, and talked to some…when I suddenly came across a couple sitting on a colourful bench. At their feet, a gorgeous dog with fantastic fur – both colours and structure. About the size of a Labrador, but with a slender and agile appearance.

I asked if I could talk to her and feel her lovely coat.

I was allowed to do so…and bent down to touch her. Her name was Annie, only 2 years old, completely calm and harmonious.

And then – she raised her head and looked at me –

– Have you ever seen anything like those eyes? My cheek fell and I just gasped.

I tried to find out what breed she was, but as I guessed, she must have been a mix. It turned out she was from Romania, and on my question about her parents and siblings, they said they did not know…Or rather, I think they could not understand or speak enough English to answer my questions.

Again I told them what an amazing dog they had – so calm too at this young age. A precious gem. It was not easy to leave her there – and I so regret I never found out their names and address. It would have been great to follow her life further on.

Those eyes –

Unforgettable