What’s Your Favorite Color?
When I was in middle school, stationary companies started making school notepads in light green color. There was even one page in the front, said ‘stare it for 10 seconds to rest your eyes’. Green is the color that is the easiest to human eyes, and Korean stationary company, Morning Glory, found the way to use it in their marketing strategy. It worked out great. It really was a good strategy for hardworking Korean kids.
Green is such a mysterious color. It is not my favorite, I don’t think, but it is the best color to represent ‘life’. There are many shades of green, and my favorite is the light green, where you can see from the new buds.
My first and the most striking impression of Bhutan was the color green. There are more than 5,000 kinds of trees in this small mountainous country, and 72% of their land is covered by forest. The very first highway connecting Bhutan to the outside world, where we drove on our first day, is a mountain side road. You can imagine the scenery along the highway.
There’s a word in Korean ‘sanlimyok’, which means ‘bathing in the forest’. We believe the energy from trees helps us to improve our health. Of course the trees provide fresh oxygen right from the leaves, but the belief is more than just science. Our ancestors always treated trees quite sacredly. Strolling in the pine tree forest has been one of my favorite memories from my childhood, and being in Bhutan reminded me of those good times.
Visiting Bhutan made me realized something that I’ve known all along. I love green. Not because it’s easy on the eyes when I’m studying. Green is life. It is the symbol of the living things. I felt my heart was filling up with joy while looking at the endless forest in Bhutan. Then I’ve realized that I feel happier when I’m surrounded by trees, flowers, and birds.
It’s an ultimate questions to travelers: beaches or mountains. What’s your choice? I do love them both, and I’ve been a lot of beaches and mountains, but I’d choose mountains if I have only one choice. I’m not sure why but beaches are always harder to get to, crowded, and more expensive. I enjoy good beaches, but I don’t think I can leave in one. Mountains always gave me a subtle joy. It’s the place for tranquility and mystery of life.
When I think about a few of my favorite places in the world, coincidently, they are near the mountains. The bushes and rain forests in New Zealand, east coast of Korea with the mountain ridges, Vermont and New Hampshire with the White and Green mountains, and now Bhutan joined the club. I was born and raised in a big city, I can handle the hustle and bustle, but I’m not a city girl. Maybe because I grew up in a city longing for nature, it impacts me more than the goodnesses of cities. I guess I’m a ‘green’ girl.
Traveling is about figuring out who I am. At least it has been the major goal for me. To head toward a happy life, it is essential to know who I truly am. Last ten years of traveling has been the greatest gift, and learned a lot about myself that I wouldn’t have known if I stayed at home the whole time. Now I know for sure that I have to leave near the mountains, or where is surrounded by a lot of trees. It’s a short moment of bliss,the realization.
How about you? Beaches, or mountains?
Hi Juno…. great post… for me, the Beach!
That’s very interesting. When I was doing pageants, a lot of people swore on color psychology. Green was the color of money so people tried not to wear it. White was favored, though.
For me, my favorite place: beaches. Even though I hate the sun on me and I need to take a parasol, I love watching sunsets. 🙂
My hubby’s fave color is green, mine is pink! 🙂
When i was young, i was told green is life. Trees, green in colour, gives us oxygen and attract rain. Green symbolizes natural beauty.
Yes – verdant green and mountains for me too – more than beaches. Sky-blue is perhaps my color of choice though I am fully on board with you about the allure of lovely green of newly budding leaves. But like you – more than beaches (that often come with the beautiful blue of the skies and oceans), the places that appease are the ones that are green — mountains, rain forests, woods, …nature in all its glory! (Maybe it is that the beaches are over-run with people while mountains and hiking through woods is less so… so in essence, I want to be away from the crowds?!)
For me… mountains over beaches, although sometimes it can depend on the type of travel. Sometimes its nice to relax on the beach, but I do love me green mountains to. Love a good old hike!
Juno, a very nice article! My life changed, at the age of 25, when I suddenly realized how important the colour green was to me! Now I live in one of the greenest parts of England! (Well, in spring and summer at least!) But having said that, your article has suddenly made me aware there’s no green on my website! And the city that I’m passionate about (Athens) is hardly a green city either – although it has some wonderful green hillsides only a short bus-ride away. Best Wishes, David.
Great post! I agree the green seen in nature really is inspiring for me, but I’m also a huge fan of the beach, more specifically beach surrounded by trees and cliffs! Another important factor for me is the sun – sunny days always put me in a good mood!
For me, green all the way! Nothing like the colour of Mother Nature. That’s why I visit lush green areas wherever I go: Kenya, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Sabah—. For day to day things though, my favourite colour is white. Car, phone, mp3 player, these always HAVE to be white for me. And by the way, the word is ‘stationery’. Stationary means standing still. Which is not really wrong in a way is it– time does seem to be stationary when you are in Bhutan! No, I haven’t been there yet, (came withing touching distance in 2009 but went to Sikkim in India instead) but I have read a lot about it and have watched several times the video on BBC Fast Track.
Keep your travel stories coming. Very inspirational.
We love both, so we just hang out in Santa Cruz where we can go for a hike and to beach in the same day 🙂
Juno, I’m all about the mountains….but a rocky coastline is pretty sweet, too!