Kaleidoscope Thinking

This guest post was written by Adam Couchman

If I look through a kaleidoscope, I see all the colours of the rainbow arranged in whatever pattern the plastic of the contraption allows. Many of us had tremendous fun as children, staring through the distortion at the myriad of colour and shapes displayed there.

But how often do we take that into adult life? It seems that as we grow up, our palette of colours becomes smaller and smaller. It feels like society wants us to see in shades of grey, with hints of black and white. How terrible.

And worst of all, those of us who feel like we see in colour often end up on the outside. Or at least feeling like the outcast. What a shame. What small-mindedness that the kaleidoscope viewers are shunned for the easy view of greyscale.

One need barely imagine the simplicity of a world viewed solely in monochrome. Yet that is the world we are told to believe in. Whether it be politically or spiritually. It seems the world of the dreamer is held at arm’s length. Perceived as far too dangerous to integrate. Shunned to the poets’ cafes and art galleries.

But we must stand tall. We do not see the world in a yoked, dualistic way. We see a boundless world of creativity and freedom. Heaven and Hell hold no bond with us because we know that to limit one’s self is to condemn ourselves to a life of limit. We see no walls in the fabric of time because we know we merely drift through. We are not to be bound by the restrictions of perceived normality.

We are often the voiceless, but I urge you all, be the voice you wish to hear. In these seemingly dark times, be the splash of colour on the greyscale.

Be the message of hope, peace and happiness, in whatever shape that takes. The world is saturated in dualistic thinking. Be the colour, be the light. It is who we were born to be.

Adam lives in Southern England with his wife and 2 kids. He is a landscape gardener by day and amateur theologian by night. He is an avid reader, cyclist and walker. Very occasional speaker, preacher and community theatre actor. And he is on a quest to seek wisdom wherever it is found.