Read the Part 1 first 🙂
The Ripple Effect of Color
This month, my sister and friends started sending me photos whenever they spotted something unusual in violet – cars (Image 5), food (Image 3), random objects. It was a small but powerful realization: this project isn’t just affecting me; it’s influencing the people around me too.
Somehow, their focus sharpened. They began noticing violet in ways they never had before. And that, in itself, is such a great insight. It confirms something we already know but often overlook – what we focus on expands. It proves, once again, that when we deliberately focus on something beautiful and positive, we automatically bring that energy into our surroundings. We don’t just change our own experience – we influence our environment in a positive way, too.
Simple, but definitely worth pointing out.
Violet Feels Like… Nothing?
By mid-month, I wrote in my journal that I didn’t have much to say about violet. It had become… neutral. A beautiful color, flattering on me, but I felt no strong emotions toward it.
I talked about this with my color analysis teacher yesterday, and she had an interesting perspective – maybe it’s because violet came right after red.
And she might be right.
After that explosion of energy, confidence, and intensity from red, violet felt like nothing in comparison. Maybe my expectations were simply too high. Maybe if violet had followed a more neutral color, the contrast wouldn’t have been so stark. Instead, I went from the ultimate high to something much quieter, and in that contrast, the shift felt disappointing.
Or maybe it’s doing exactly what it’s supposed to do. Violet is known for calming the nervous system. Maybe I’m just calm. But coming straight from red, that calm felt like… emptiness.
At the beginning of the month, I found violet almost irritating. It was as if it wasn’t giving me anything, and that lack of stimulation frustrated me. It left me confused, unsure of what I was even feeling. Now, looking back, I wonder – was I actually feeling nothing, or was I just resisting the stillness?
Listening to the Silence of Violet
Maybe I just need to accept that this month is quieter. Maybe instead of resisting it, I should listen to the silence and see what it has to tell me. Maybe, if I allow myself to fully embrace it, I’ll end up liking it. Who knows?
One thing I’ve noticed – since wearing lilac, the compliments have stopped. With red, people always had something to say. It was bold, intense, alive. But violet? It’s milder, softer, almost… lukewarm.
Is It the Color or the Clothes?
I can’t help but wonder – would I like violet more if I had truly cool, modern pieces that I really loved ( like this beautiful suit Kuul27, my sister wore – love it – Image 6 )? Maybe this isn’t just about the color itself but about the style and design of the clothes (hello again, enclothed cognition). The way we wear a color, the way it fits into our style, has just as much influence as the color itself.
Another thing I’ve noticed? Harmony – or in this case, disharmony.
When I bought my violet clothes (Image 2), I wasn’t paying attention to undertones. I picked them randomly, as long as they were some shade of violet. And now, when I wear them together, I see at least two completely different hues – one warm, one cool – and they don’t blend well. The lack of harmony bothers me. It irritates me every time I look in the mirror.
Which leads me to an interesting question: What about people who don’t notice these differences?
If someone doesn’t have a refined sense of color, if they don’t see undertones or feel color interactions as strongly – does disharmony still affect them on a subconscious level? Or is it all psychological? If someone isn’t aware of color discord, does it mean they aren’t bothered by it, either consciously or unconsciously?
This brings us right back to that big question: How much do colors affect us consciously? And how much – if at all – do they influence us subconsciously, even when we’re unaware of them?
Violet Feels… Underwhelming?
After two more journal check-ins, I found myself writing the same thing again – I don’t have much to say about violet. I don’t have strong feelings toward it. It doesn’t give me anything. Honestly, I find it a little boring.
What I have realized, though, is how important the exact tone of violet is. It can very quickly go from looking elegant and sophisticated to looking… cheap. I don’t know how else to describe it, but certain shades of purple can easily feel unsophisticated if not handled well.
To make violet look intentional and stylish, the cut, the fabric, and the overall design of the clothing have to be just right (Image 6). Otherwise, it loses its magic. I’ve noticed this more with violet than with any other color so far. It’s not an easy color to wear—it requires thought and the right execution.
When Violet Started Following Me
There were days when it felt like lilac was haunting me at every turn.
I walked into my dentist’s office – where I’ve been going for ten years – and suddenly, there was a massive new painting on the wall. Violet. (Image 11)
I went out for lunch, and my food was served on a violet plate. (Image 10)
Posters along the street? Violet.
I opened a video to watch, and the background was, you guessed it, violet.
It was everywhere, as if the universe was making sure I didn’t ignore this color, no matter how indifferent I felt toward it.
The Unexpected Gift of Violet
By the end of the month, I realized something surprising – violet had actually calmed me.
It wasn’t violet that had irritated me. It was my own confusion about what I was feeling. If I had accepted it earlier, I would have recognized that violet was giving me peace.
That nothingness I thought I was experiencing – especially after all the intensity of red – wasn’t emptiness at all. It was calm. And it was beautiful.
What’s even more interesting is that despite this sense of quiet, my creative ideas didn’t stop. If anything, I had more of them. But by the end of the month, I also noticed something else – I was tired. I didn’t have enough energy to keep up with all my ideas.
Of course, a big part of the problem is still my sleep schedule. I rarely go to bed before 2 AM, which obviously isn’t helping. But I did the same thing in the previous two months, and it didn’t affect me this much. Especially in my red month – I had endless energy back then.
Maybe this is the real difference. Red was fuel. Violet was rest.
Violet Light and Quiet Moments
I did a few violet light therapy sessions, maybe five or six times, but that’s probably too little to notice any real benefits. Still, I really enjoyed those 30 minutes of stillness each time. (Image 7)
A Book Left Unread
Midway through the month, I bought the audiobook The Color Purple. But I never started it. I had read somewhere that it was quite heavy, and I just wasn’t in the mood for an emotionally intense book. (Image 14)
What Comes After Violet?
At this point, a new thought crept in – If violet calmed me this much, what will happen in my blue month?
Will it relax me even further? Or will it completely slow me down, making me passive? I really hoped it wouldn’t be the latter.
(And now, as I’m transcribing this from my journal into a blog post, already well into my blue month, I can’t help but smile at my own innocent expectations. Let’s just say… I had no idea what was coming next.)
Looking Back and Moving Forward
Three months into my 12 Colors in 12 Months journey, each color has shaped my experience in unexpected ways.
- Black was introspective and mysterious. It gave me space for transformation. [Read my insights on black here.]
- Red was powerful and bold. It was an instant love story full of energy. [Read my reflections on red here.]
- Violet? It was quiet. It gave me stillness, whether I wanted it or not.
And now, I step into blue.
Will it continue this sense of calm? Or will it take me somewhere entirely different? One thing is for sure – this project keeps surprising me. And I love that.
