Do you see the world as it is?

I was having a case of the blues the other day, and as I was pondering my own blues, my husband asked: “Why are the blues called the blues ? If the skies were yellow, would the blues still be called the blues?” 

I was actually curious about what he said but I was too sad to think about it too much, but today I’m feeling…pink – I think that’s the color for feeling good – and I’m curious if what he said makes sense. It’s possible it won’t. He was just talking nonsense to get my mind off being upset.

So, do the blues have anything to do with the sky? Apparently, no. The blues have to do with alcohol. The expression “the blues” is the short version of “blue devils”. People who experience alcohol withdrawal can have very vivid hallucinations, and apparently they see blue devils.

But do you actually see blue when you’re upset or depressed? Apparently, no. Personally, I’ve noticed that when I’m upset and it’s a sunny day for instance, it feels like it’s getting cloudier, darker, even though nothing is changing in the sky. So what is happening? There’s actually something physical that happens when you’re upset, which accounts for why the world becomes gray and drab. When you’re sad, less light enters your retina, which reduces your visual acumen. Sad people have a hard time distinguishing color in the blue-yellow spectrum, which makes sense why when I’m upset it feels like it’s cloudier and the sky is grayer. What is strange is that sad people have no problem distinguishing colors in the red-green spectrum. So if the sky were red, when you’re sad you’d still see the sky as red. It wouldn’t become pink or maroon.

So, if the skies were yellow, would the blues still be called the blues? Yes, because the blues have nothing to do with the color of the sky. But if you have the blues, you might not see that the sky is yellow.

Conclusion: how you feel affects how you see the world, so beware, if you want to see the world as it is.

See you,

Misty