Because every now and then, there's just a little bit of Pink.

But . . . is it enough?

Cool Pink GIF from Cool GIFs

 So what is it about "pink".   Why does Zen Dope Magazine continue to allude to a magical mystery here?   The enigma of pink is fairly well known and used by psychologists, musicians, artists and even writers.  "Drunk Tank Pink"  became a famous color in the 70's and 80's when a study was done about using color to affect violent prison in-mates and other commonly hostile or aggressive environments.  It worked. The highly effective, yet temporary calming effects of pink was only half the mystery, however, and so much more is lying beneath the surface of color psychology,  the enigma of "pink"  by far,  reigns as the most interesting.

 Off the top, "pink" says to western civilization:  sweet, feminine, giddy, candy, valentine, young girls, lipstick, blush, flowers, fleeting euphoria.  We have our common idioms, such as  "In The Pink" (doing and feeling well), "Pretty in Pink", (flirty), "Tickled Pink" (pleased-delighted), "Pink Elephants" (drunken hallucinations), and  "pinky finger". 
           
                                                                  Pinky finger?

The smallest finger on the human hand is no more "pink" than any other finger, is it?   And in just this tiny idiom is nearly the whole of  that mystery....  and you can just barely put your finger on it.  It is an inescapable mood, it is truly a drug.

 "All colors have emotional psychological influence according to what culture you are raised in.  All cultures do not agree on these effects so western society does not dictate to the world what effects colors have on the human mind.  For example, "red" means danger, "Red Flag", "In the Red" (in debt, or promiscuous : the red dress) etc.  But in India it means "Welcome" (the red door)  and "Bridal" (the wedding dress) in China red means "Prosperity and luck" and is a celebrational color. 

In America, Blue is a calm and masculine color, relaxed  and  even melancholy.   A "Blue Mood", means "having the blues" (A sadness or depression).  In China blue is a feminine color, just the opposite of America.   Across the cultural board, blue has more diverse meanings than any other color, ranging from trust to royalty (blue bloods) to depression and loneliness.  In the Middle East blue means safety,  heaven and immortality.  In the USA blue is authority and military, (Navy Blues).

 Green has the same fluctuating effect over the worlds population, we know it immediately as envy and jealousy, and "Going Green" is to be in harmony with nature, spring and freshness.  And of course,  green symbolizes "Money" in the USA.

Green means "inexperience" (he was still green) and greed.  In Ireland,  green is luck, shamrocks and leprechauns.  In China, men do not wear green hats due to the implication that they are unfaithful and cheating on their wife or business partner, a "Cheater ".   In Asian cultures green represents fertility and health.  In Mexico green means "Independence",  in South America green symbolizes death.

"Purple" too, is all over the board, symbolizing everything from royalty, to bad luck,  death to prosperity.

In Western culture, Orange is fun and daring, creative and spicy ... in the Netherlands it represents "Royal families".   In Egypt it is a symbol for "Death" but Happiness and Good Health" in Japan.   Orange is  "Strength and Bravery"  in the Ukraine . . .

 Most people do not even realize that "White" is a color.   White is only the background for colors to appear upon, for most people.  White is rather bland for some cultures and more pure and clean for others.   In the West, white stands for purity, cleanliness, elegance and angels.

Black is daring, severe, sophisticated (black tie) and threatening in Western Society and we use more black than any other color.   In Africa black symbolizes age, maturity and  masculinity.   Many countries associate black with death and superstition, (black cats) while in the Middle East it connotates rebirth and mourning.  The Chinese say that "Black is Heaven's Color" whereas white is associated with death and mourning.

Pink was an unrecognized color in China until it was eventually pressed into the culture due to increasing Western influences.  The Chinese word for "Pink" translates as “foreign color.”  Pink in China is not considered natural to their culture?  Or to the Earth?   In either case,  the Chinese strangely snubbed the color for a large part of their History.  

Japan shares the gender association of pink with both male and female qualities and men wear pink just as often as women do.   All countries generally agree that "Pink", is mentally stimulating, calming, controlled and a bit euphoric, except for China, one of the oldest countries on the planet, who may have picked up on the "otherliness" of pink long ago.

 But "Pink" transcends all of these cultures and has the same effect on humans where ever it goes.  The french have a saying "Not all is pink", meaning that not all is "dreamy and tranquil".  The French also invented the concept of "Rose Colored Glasses" and everyone knows what that means.  Pink has no truly contradictory meanings throughout global cultures as all other colors do.

Scientists claim that there is no such color as "pink" and that in fact, pink does not exist.   All colors correspond to wavelengths of light, they explain, but there's no wavelength in there for pink! Instead, they say, it is a combination of "neural trickery" and they claim that our brains take green out of the spectrum to fill in for pink.

Wow . . . really?  Are we really seeing green flamingos?  It seems that even science is mystified with pink.

Everything famous for being pink is unusual or magical to start with . . . Pink Flamingos, Pink Panther, Pink Parlors, Pink Dolls, Pink or "Pinky" (a new synthetic opioid hypnotic drug)  Pink Piggy Banks, Pink Champagne, Pink Sand,  Pink Houses, Pink Crystals, Pink Cinderella Castles, Pink Ballet Shoes, Pink Cotton Candy (and what a strange candy!) Pink Lemonade, Pink Roses, Pink Bubble Gum, and the colossally notorious "Pink Lips"!

Pink is "punk" and even sounds like "punk".  Pink hair lopped forward and heavily of the eye or jutting straight up all over the head in neon pink was the first entrance of the punk culture into society,  followed by the more drugged down than drugged up "Emo" culture.   Although pink has absolutely no global political restraints or definitions what-so -ever,  it is a mainstream in rebellion and daring youth subcultures, such as Emo and Punk.

No matter what you associate pink with it has the same effect.   Surreal.  Pink is a hypnotic drug.  Pink seduces the consciousness into a surreal state of mind.   Everything felt about pink has an "uncommon" feeling tone to it,  something like a pleasant hijacking.  The Chinese insist that the color "pink" is foreign . . . why?   What an odd and very 'pink" thing to say.

Other colors have emotional and psychological effects,  varying according to societal constructs but pink is consistently different.  Pink even looks different than other colors, as if it is out of place somehow . . .  and yet not always.

 So there we have it, Pink is a foreign, otherly,  surreal,  hypnotic, seducing, euphoric, intoxicating enigma.  Pink is a "drug". The color "pink" is actually a real drug.  Pink is so thoroughly saturated with itself that to even talk about pink pulls you into it's dream.

Pink is so powerful that it addicts women, calms criminals and alarms Zen Masters.  If all the world were pink, we would all be locked into a euphoric hypnotic state.   And what of a sensible nature would ever get done?  And THAT is why just "every now and then", there is a just a little bit of  "Pink".


  For Anthony

Swan