Red, for me it’s the color of visibility! Today, I’m frequently described is the tall lady with the bold lipstick. If you were to ask my colleagues to guess my favorite color most would, instantly and without a hint of doubt, say red. It has become a part of me. Red, to me, is like breathing.
You see, I have a lot of red in my house. I have red furniture, red curtains, even a red bedspread. Yes, I certainly do like red. I wear red clothes, red lipstick, red jewelry. My favorite coat is red!
It wasn’t always this way. I avoided red for a long time. My reason, visibility. My FEAR of visibility. Red is a bright color. It stands out in a crowd. It’s considered a “power” color. It’s also a “hot” color. There’s no getting around it. Red will make you visible.
My uncomfortable relationship with red began when I was a teenager. I had a cute one piece crimson red swimsuit. I loved it! I wore it on a school trip to Fire Island and that’s where my fear of visibility first surfaced.
I was lying face down on my beach blanket in a clump with three other girls when I heard the voice of a boy who used to try to bully me and call me names. He started talking to my friends. He was talking about me! About how cute he thought I was in my crimson red swimsuit!
I remember cringing inside and thinking, “Why won’t he just go away!” My teen brain thought, “Now he thinks I’m cute because he doesn’t realize it’s me.” After a few more minutes of him trying to get my attention, I finally raised my head, looked up at him through my hair and said, “Go away, Jeff.” To which he responded, “Oh God, it’s Ghostface!’. That was his name for me, it referenced my porcelain complexion. I obviously surprised him and he started picking on me in front of my friends. I just stared at him with a bored, “Why are you here?” superior teen girl face, at which point my friends told him to get lost and he walked away disgusted. I was so relieved! I wanted him to leave me alone and I blamed this unwanted attention on my red swimsuit.
After that, I avoided red for many years. It was close to 14 years before I wore red again. I bought a red power suit and then a red lace dress. I loved that dress! I never had a conscious recall of purposely avoiding the color. It wasn’t until a friend complimented me on my dress that I remembered that day on Fire Island.
It was at that point that I decided to claim red as one of my signature colors. That is why most would say it’s my favorite color. I wear it a lot. My favorite coat, a gift of divine providence, is deep crimson red. I call it a divine gift because I had been hunting for a trench coat that I could wear for work. It needed to be something dressy but I also wanted it to have a hood and I remember thinking, if it could be red, that would be great.
Once at the store, I looked around and didn’t find anything. I was getting ready to leave when I saw this gorgeous ruby color. It was in the petite section and I’m a big lady. I remember thinking, it will never fit but the color is so beautiful I just have to get a closer look. Sure enough, it was a long ruby red trench coat with a hood and you know what else, it was my size! I couldn’t believe it! It was the only one of its kind in the store AND it was a price I could afford! I grabbed it as the sacred gift it was!
Once I had the coat, I began thinking how nice it would be if I could find an umbrella to match. I looked for a few months with no luck. Then, one night at a chamber of commerce dinner, I bought some raffles. You know where this is going. I won the last basket. It was filled with pet food, pet toys etc… but at the very bottom of the basket, totally out of sight, was a red, Nautica umbrella that perfectly matched my coat!
It’s been 17 years and I still have the coat and the umbrella. I have never seen others like them in my travels. They are my constant reminders that not only is the Universe on my side but that it answers my prayers in creative ways!
This combination makes me visible wherever I go and I am glad to be noticed as the Lady in Red. I made the choice to take back the “power” of red and the Universe has been answering me ever since. As one of my signature colors, red is all over my house, my wardrobe, and even my business branding!
As for Jeff, the bully, I’m not sure whatever happened to him but I thank him. Without him, I might never have recognized the strength and rightness of red in my life.
Red is the color of my visibility.
Take some time and think back. Is there anything you avoid such as places, events, colors, objects because of a bad, fearful, or even traumatic experience?
Perhaps you’re like me and don’t even realize you are avoiding something.
Just let it float into your awareness. If something surfaces, dig deeper than your first answer, you may be surprised at what you find and the thing you’re avoiding could bring great pleasure to your life.
