I Spend the Day Wearing Rose-colored Glasses

The stove is beeping, flashing an unknown "F2" error message.

Outside my office door, Holly is crying for her dinner, even though it's only 4 o'clock. Brother Tim also has "cattitude", waiting for my door to open so he can raid the "forbidden zone" of books, papers, computer cables and other tempting appetizers.

This is one of those days when the phone just won't stop ringing. A mother calls to register her underage kid for camp, trying to convince me that he is a brilliant exception to the rule. An intern has sprained his ankle and I have to find his replacement by tomorrow morning. A woman wants to know why she can't just go right out and purchase a crystal bed from John of God. A man who claims he is a policeman is collecting donations to support the local high school football team. A reporter wants to interview me but I can hardly hear her because our noisy neighbor is outside mowing his lawn.

The doorbell rings--it's the UPS guy--and I hear the stove beeping again, this time with an "F4" error message. I have no idea what these messages mean as the stove came with the house and the manual has long disappeared. I'm pushing buttons for at least 5 minutes until the stove finally gets my message to stop screeching. It takes another 15 minutes to locate my scissors so I can open the heavily-taped UPS package, only to get lost in a mound of styrofoam peanuts and discover that the item is not what I ordered and has to be re-packaged and returned. Holly and Tim are back at my door, ramming their furry little bodies against it as if to show how ferocious they are, how cruel I am and they really mean business. Then Nick comes home and wants to know what's for dinner tonight and I haven't the foggiest...

These are things that would normally annoy me. But not today. Today life is beautiful. Today I am wearing my rose-colored glasses.

When you're a color therapist, your world is a hue-mongous playground with all sorts of cards and scarves and gadgets at your disposal. One of my favorite "toys" is my set of color therapy glasses. I've got the whole array of rainbow spectacles, from red to violet, and I also have magenta and turquoise. But for today's viewing pleasure, I have selected my newest addition, a lovely pair of rose-colored glasses.

Now there are those who would scoff that wearing rose-colored glasses is impractical, unrealistic and extremely Pollyanna. I don't agree because at this very moment I am not stressed, I'm not angry, I'm not even remotely miffed. In fact, I'm feeling downright terrific. So good, that even if someone was to knock me down, step on my face and tread on my blue suede shoes with a convoy of Mack trucks covered in fried peanut butter sandwiches, my world would still look bright and rosy. (My apologies to Elvis.)

So what's all this fuss about rose?

Rose is a gentle shade of pink, the color of unconditional love, forgiveness and compassion. With rose, your life is a pleasant journey because your energy isn't consumed with anger and hate. In Aura-Soma (the holistic color system which was developed by Vicki Wall, a blind woman), rose helps us see the world anew, to develop compassion for ourselves as well as others. It helps us feel and appear more youthful, improves tunnel vision and reduces computer eye strain. And with so many people taking anti-depressants these days, wearing rose is a more pleasant alternative to taking Prozac. So even if you wore these spectacles for health benefits only, they're well worth the investment.

Wearing rose-colored glasses can help make others feel good, too, as in the brilliant Roberto Benigni movie, "Life Is Beautiful". The story is about a doomed but imaginative Italian Jew who paints a rosy picture of life in a Nazi concentration camp. For the sake of his young son's survival, the character invents a fantasy world of fun and games, where the first one to earn 1,000 points wins a tank. Granted, my life of beeping stoves and conniving kitties is far less traumatic than a loving father whose destiny is to be killed by a Nazi prison guard. But once I don my beautiful rose-colored glasses it is so much easier to play the cards I am dealt.

Are you tired of playing the victim in the "Woe Is Me" game? Then take it from this glad-happy Pollyanna: wearing rose-colored glasses isn't about choosing to live in a constant state of denial, but it is about choices. It's about changing our attitude so we can be happier, more productive and enjoy the people--and kitties--we love.

Yes, Life is a game. But it is also beautiful...and it is way too short.