A complete stranger came up to me and asked, “Do you like purple?”

I swallowed and looked down at my purple glasses. Glancing sideways, at the purple tablecloth with two stacks of different purple books, behind me at two predominantly purple standing banners, posters, flowers and even a purple pen, I answered quietly, “Yes, I guess I do.”

“Your outfit even matches your book.”

“Yes, yes it does…”

Geez.

Yes, I have worn a lot of purple over the last two years while promoting my books, “Gifts of the Crysnix” and “Mother Nature’s Kiss”. I just want people to know who the author is.

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I have been seeing a lot of purple out there since that stranger’s question. I just love when my lilacs bloom and I make a huge bouquet in my beautiful antique vase. It is the happy colour of pure joy while Poppy swings on a sunny day and the hopeful colour of pansies popping up from the winter soil.

But more than all that, I feel it is the colour of compromise. Looking at a colour wheel, purple is the tempering of a hot red with a dash of cool blue or opposite the excitement of bright orange, is the calm violet. I chose purple for the cover of my books so they would appeal to anyone. Not blue for boys or pink for girls, but a neutral purple for everyone.

With Canada Day tomorrow and Independence Day coming up in a couple of days, I want to celebrate the love I have for my American friends and their country as well as my beautiful life in Canada. We are all so fortunate to live in North America. Our cultures are as stable as they are by the strategic acts of compromise. That’s as political as I will get but I know you will read between the lines.

Let’s just say that if we blended all the colours of our flags, we would end up with a beautiful shade of purple!

I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend celebrating what makes our lives, homes and countries so special. It is in our uniqueness that we find tolerance and compromise, and that is what makes our countries strong.

Even if you don’t like purple, I respect our differences and that’s a cool way to live.

Have a positively and perfectly purple day!

xox Lisa