Peachy-Keen

Peachy-Keen…an old expression from the 1950s.  It has fallen out of use, like so many of the slang phrases that each generation creates.  I have a vague memory of a bobby-sox clad teen from an old movie saying it, and I remember a few people using peachy-keen as a superlative, or more commonly using it sarcastically ( Now isn’t that just peachy-keen!) when I was a younger. It was soon replaced by the 60s versions:  Cool, Groovy, and Far Out! Peachy-Keen, just like those passé 60s words, is long outdated now. I haven’t thought of that particular turn of phrase in many years, but there could not be a better expression for this moment than peachy-keen as I look out my studio window and watch the  morning sky turn a glorious peach color.  The old slang expression is a perfect description of this present little instant, when the peachy-keen sky is nothing short of amazing, There is a unique layer of brightness added to the palette of colors painted on the dawning day. Even as I write, the sky is subtly transforming itself from peach into a lavender color. But for now… isn’t that just peachy-keen! No sarcasm intended.

In the study of color’s symbolism and meaning, orange is sometimes denoted as the color of happiness.  This particular peachy shade of orange captures that idea perfectly, as I look at the bright beginning of the day and feel a rise of hope and a hint of joy. I don’t understand exactly how colors evoke feelings in us, but I don’t have to explain all of the brain-body connections to experience this optimistic-imbued pastel’s effects on my spirit.   Are you able to look at a Peachy-Keen sky this morning before you take up whatever is on today’s to-do list? As you rush out the door to work and other duties, is there time to glance at the sky for an injection of happiness-colored joy? I hope so.  After a wearying week here and a fast-approaching frantic holiday season, the peachy-keen sky gently reminds me of the presence of everyday beauty.  My role in this amazing display?  It is to look at it closely and savor the color and its ethereal glow.  Watching a peachy-keen sky for the fleeting moments before the colors change to yellow and then to lilac and then to blue suddenly becomes urgent and important. I pause and revise that ever-present to-do list. Number one on today’s agenda?  Take a few seconds to truly look at this generous gift that spreads out over the wide, wide Texas sky.  I welcome this new priority. It comes without any expectation or requirement to DO.  It is a reminder to BE. 

Maybe things are peachy-keen wherever you are at this moment in time.  Maybe they aren’t.  Perhaps you have a window and an open, morning sky that is subtly transforming from dark to light like one of those handy paint sample strips at the hardware store. Maybe that sky is full of gathering clouds, or your view is blocked by tall buildings or dense forests or tiny, rain-soaked windows. Somewhere behind any barriers, surely that particular tone of peach exists, that shade that painters and photographers often try to capture.  Somehow, whether glaringly obvious or maddeningly obscure, the heavens do declare the glory of God this day.  

A sunrise’s daily presence can be a trite or over-worked image in art and literature. Even tired metaphors and dated slang are rejuvenated today as the ordinary rises to the sublime.  The sunrise is immanent and accessible and amazing in its deceptively casual beauty. I need only look out the window to be reminded that the world is big and surprising and that life consists of much more than what life requires or that I put on my own personal agenda. The typical focus of my attention turns from an inner to an outer view. The color of happiness breaks through in a sky that is wide and bright and full of drama. The tinctures of our world cause me to pause and to turn my soul momentarily from busyness. Color seeps into my life and permeates me with joy.

I hope for a peachy-keen day for you and for me— A day full of minutes or even a few seconds spent looking up and out and drinking in whatever colors that nature has invited me to savor this morning.  Trite, of course, but still true: Dawns bring one more day filled with rich color when I can choose to live a little larger than what I ask of myself or others demand. I shift for a while from the things that press down upon my day. I celebrate one more moment of awe. I treasure one more moment to bask in that special, fleeting Light. Peachy-keen, I say to myself. Yes, peachy-keen.

God’s glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.  Psalm 19:1- The Message

Reflection Question:

Our bodies and spirits react to color in varied ways.  Think about a particular color that inspires, comforts, or energizes you.  How can you insert this color more intentionally into your spiritual practices?