My brother died of cancer about 15 years ago and his last days were difficult. He spent them at home with the help of Hospice. My mother, sisters, and I often stayed at the house those last days to help his wife with his care. One morning I was there alone with him. He was semi-conscious and in severe distress. I didn’t think he was aware I was there. I was angry to see him suffer so. I wouldn’t let a dog suffer like that, I thought; why must I let my brother suffer so?
That was what I thought before noon. After noon he felt a little better and managed to get up. We sat in their living room, I built a fire in the fireplace, and we talked about blue. I had been studying the color. I like to do that sometimes, take a topic and research it until I can find nothing more.
He’d gotten interested in the topic too, so we traded information that cool spring morning about the occupant of the 450-490 nanometer portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, in English called “blue.”
The word “blue” seems to have evolved from the Old Norse word “bla” which in turn comes (perhaps) from the Indo-European “bhêl” for flash or burn. Some languages have no word for blue, one of us had discovered. These languages use what linguists call a “grue” word for both green and blue colors. The lack of words, however, has nothing to do with perception. (I think he did the biology portion of the research.) The eye is able to perceive and distinguish among over 16 million colors even if no words can describe this variety.
The word “blue” seems to have evolved from the Old Norse word “bla” which in turn comes (perhaps) from the Indo-European “bhêl” for flash or burn. Some languages have no word for blue, one of us had discovered. These languages use what linguists call a “grue” word for both green and blue colors. The lack of words, however, has nothing to do with perception. (I think he did the biology portion of the research.) The eye is able to perceive and distinguish among over 16 million colors even if no words can describe this variety.
Blue has almost always been a sacred color. (I did the history angle, of course.) Although the ancient Egyptians had no word for blue, they revered it so highly it could only be used for the faces of gods and pharaohs. To the woodland Indians of North America, blue symbolized peace, but light blue represented birth and day and peace among tribes. Dark blue represented night and the ultimate peace of death. The Mayans assigned colors to compass directions. North was white; south, yellow; west, black; east, red; but most significant, the center, the point of stillness, was blue.
Blue has been thought to have healing powers. Even as late as the 1930s, field nurses reported that most English school children wore blue beads to prevent colds. The children of Israel were commanded to make blue fringes on their garments in the Old Testament for protection. Blue garters were supposed to cure gout.
There was more, much more we discussed about blue. I treasure that conversation as I treasure few others. He died two days later. If my anger had flared in a culture that insists on the relief of suffering, I would never have had that moment with him. We run from suffering, forgetting that every moment is worth the living. Life is that precious.
Above, Blue, acrylic on canvas 18x24 inches. Copyright 2006 ptw.
