What do you think of when you see those words – Finding Your Green?
Do you think of:
Money?
Leaves?
Environment?
Maybe gardening?
One reader thought of Kermit the Frog (“It’s not easy being green.”)!
The phrase “Finding your green” also makes me think of yearning, of wanting more, of finding something that might be missing in my life.
Before we embark on the meditations, I want to explain more about what “Finding Your Green” is all about.
What Does Finding Your Green Mean?
Why Green?
Green is a wonderful color. It brings to mind so many images. I am a gardener, so I think of gardens, green growing things, new life, and spring.
I also think of money, finance, growing dollars, and having a money tree.
Because I’m Irish, I think of the green hills of Ireland and the shamrock.
Green is important in many cultures. In Japanese culture, it symbolizes eternal life, and it’s the sacred color of Islam.
In the Christian bible, green is a color of growth, but also of peace, as in the 23rd Psalm:
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
The 4th Chakra or energy center of yoga is the heart chakra, and its symbol is green. This chakra is called “Anahata,” and it bridges the gap between physical and spiritual worlds.
Green is a symbol of amiability, friendship. Green lights mean “GO!” In my research, I discovered that green is the color of balance and harmony. Talk about synchronicity!
As I discover more about green, I’m convinced that I was led to this color to represent both personal and financial growth, but balance and harmony in our lives. I could spend a lot more time talking about green symbols, meanings, and psychological effects, but I want to move on. If you want to play the “Green Game,” go to my “Green Game” page and have fun.
Why is Balance So Important?
Through the many years of my work life, I fought to get balance. I was a single mother, so balancing work, kids, and self was difficult. Now that I’m out of that swamp, I’m hoping to share my insights to help you.
Why Women?
When I envisioned Finding Your Green, I thought primarily of women. Women think differently about life and love, about purpose and balance, differently from men. Throughout my working life, I have seen this difference between how men and women live life.
Lord Byron said it best:
“Man’s love is of man’s life is a thing apart. ‘Tis woman’s whole existence.”
You might say I am in danger of ignoring the changes in our lives in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, but I do still believe that women who work and who want careers have more difficulty dealing with the struggles of home and family and personal life than men do.
I see the struggle in my daughter, who is trying to juggle a career in law with wanting to be with her husband, train for triathlons and have friendships.
I see the struggle in my daughter-in-law, who has two growing children, a loving husband, and a part-time job, who wants time for church and ministry in her community.
I see the struggle in my empty-nester friends, who find themselves trying to decide whether to retire and how to spend the latter part of their lives and have meaning and purpose.
I see the struggle in my retired friends, some of whom are single again after many years and who are dealing with health issues or taking care of older parents and still trying to make the most of the years left to them.
I still want to “have it all,” and I still struggle with balancing my wish to be with my husband, my desire to travel, with concerns about our health and finances and a desire to make a contribution to other women.
What’s your struggle as a woman in balancing your work/purpose and your personal life? I wrote Finding Your Green for you. And for me.
Finding Your Green means having balance in all areas of your life, growing in your work and personal life to achieve contentment and happiness.
My purpose in creating Finding Your Green is to help you achieve that balance between life and work, financial security and spiritual contentment, through a series of meditations. I want to draw you into the process of achieving that balance, through a thought and contemplation, intention and planning.
Jean Wilson Murray, writer 