NIB: Between endings & beginnings

When I was 16, I did a fairly intense 17-day trek in Pemberton, BC. That was the first time I heard the quote 'I think God would be angry if you walked right by the colour purple and didn't notice it.' I've since shared this quote with many friends, never knowing its context or source.

The Color Purple is a novel by Alice Walker.
"The color purple stands for independence and liberation of one’s mind and feelings... when Celie can choose a dress for the first time in her life, she chooses a purple one....when Shug explains to Celie how important freedom is, she says: 'I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.'”

(http://www.scholieren.com/boekverslagen/3509)

I had always interpreted the quote as 'quit complaining, look up and see what's around you, at the opportunities you have' ... I had never thought to also take it as a reminder of the fact that I had the capacity & freedom to make this conscious choice.


And coincidentally, while simultaneously movie-watching, laundering, packing, and feeling a bit nervous, an excellent quote from the ending of 'Shakespeare in Love' struck a neuron, as it seemed to tie together all the loose ends...


My story starts at sea,
A perilous voyage to an unknown land,
A shipwreck,
The wild waters roar and heave,
The brave vessel is dashed all to pieces,
And all the helpless souls within her, drown.
Only save one, a lady
Whose soul is greater than the ocean,
And her spirit, stronger than the sea's embrace,
Not for her a watery end, but a new life beginning on a stranger shore.
It will be a love story, for she will be my heroine for all time,
And her name will be Viola.