Painting With Philosophy

Earlier this week, I went with my wife to the hardware store.

We were looking for, among other things, the right shade of purple paint for her to paint the wall in her office that she uses as a background for meetings.

And let me tell ya.

You might be surprised.

But I love going to the hardware stuff.

True. I may not be the handiest person.

But I can appreciate that the hardware stuff is where you go when you're really going to make something concrete happen.

That's where you get the tools to actually change or improve an aspect of your home.

It's like the opposite of an academic philosophy classroom in some ways.

One is a place where all efforts can seem to dissipate into abstract problems and worries.

The other, a place where efforts come together into tools to bring real, concrete change.

And, as a philosopher who has serious misgivings about the academy's lack of real impact in the world, I find it to be a very refreshing place for that reason.

Now. I

n many ways, I admit that a hardware store can seem like a place that's, as my dear wife put it, "no theory, all praxis."

But, as the philosopher I am, I felt compelled to point out that that was not necessarily the case.

Indeed, if you walk into a hardware store and look at the color options that you have available to you, you may be surprised at JUST HOW MANY different shades of all kinds of colors there can be.

And how interesting and culturally laden their names are.

After all, "Dynamo" strikes a very different feel from "Imperial Purple" (the one we ended up getting!)

And in looking at these colors, there is an opportunity for reflection.

For thinking through how different colors relate to each other in the space of possibilities.

How some purples are more maroon, others are bluer, and yet others shade into gray.

How some are darker, others brighter, and even some duller.

By doing so, you realize that the space of color possibilities is both rich AND enormous if you think about it for just a second.

And knowing its different dimensions can help you make JUST the right choice.

The names of colors also provide an opportunity for reflection.

For reflecting on whether knowing the name of a paint's color affects the way it speaks to your spirit.

Words have power. They speak to our spirit. And having just the right name can clench the choice that's right for you.

It is certainly powerful to dub a shade of purple "Imperial" or "Perfect."

And so, even in a place of seemingly pure practicality.

A bit of reflection. A bit of philosophy can help us make even better choices.

To this, I would add that even more sophisticated philosophy can help us make even wiser choices.

By helping us be aware of more of what's going on all around us.

And in ourselves.

Of the relevant patterns that shape our life.

And that we can use to transform them.

That's why I take an unapologetic philosophical approach to my life coaching.

We don't have to choose between theory or practice.

Between theoretical sophistication.

And practical applicability.

We Can Actually WEAVE THEM TOGETHER for the BEST RESULTS.

That's what I teach my coaching clients.

A sophisticated but practical philosophical framework that they can use to better navigate the world around them.

So, if you're ready to weave theory and practice together to take the wisest and most effective approach to anything life throws at you, check it out:

https://www.promiseofphilosophy.com/get-happiness-coaching

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To Your Being Practical And Theoretical

Santi Sanchez, Ph.D.

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