Healthy and Green Living

This season offers us so many opportunities for joy, deep peace, and connection. But given the stresses of our daily lives, most of us could use a little help–and colors offer lots of it. Research has shown that our attitudes and moods can be improved and benefited by using colors in a mindful way.

Here is a fun quiz to help you see which colors might be most beneficial for you to wear or to use in holiday decorations, in order to have the most positive experience of this beautiful season. Take the quiz here:

Make note of any answers that are TRUE for you.

1. I want to feel more peaceful, calm and serene this holiday season.

2. I love it all–the snow, the Santas, the gifts, the parties! Deck the Halls! Fa la la la la!

3. I need more positive energy so I don’t just want to crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head until Spring.

4. I want to feel a sense of possibility and change for the New Year. Time for a fresh rebirth!

5. Giving to others is the best part of this season for me. I just want to feel that I have more than enough to share.

6. I tend to get a little bit on edge this time of year. I don’t want to snap at people, but to be filled with peaceful goodwill.

If 1 or 6 are TRUE for you, use BLUE to calm yourself down. Surround yourself with blue fabrics, and use cool blue holiday bulbs to help soothe any frazzled nerves. Be sure to spend enough time resting in the dark.

If 2 is TRUE for you, you can use any of the holiday colors–red, green, blue, gold, or white–to keep your wonderfully festive attitude going!

If 3 is TRUE for you, RED will help to cheer you up and re-ignite your energetic fire. Wear a red sweater, or use a bright red tablecloth, or perk yourself up at work with a poinsettia plant on your desk.

If 4 is TRUE for you, the cheering message of the everGREEN will help you to focus on the many possibilities for change and renewal in your life. The uplifting sight (and scent) of greens such as pine, boxwood, juniper, cedar, or holly will be your most helpful decorations, but you can also wear the color to align yourself with the life force in nature. Or try using WHITE to feel a sense of clean-slate purity: snow scenes, or snowy linens and clothing will help you feel fresh and clean, ready to begin again.

If 5 was TRUE for you, use GOLD to help you focus on the abundance that already exists in your life, and to help you think creatively to celebrate it and attract more of it.