The Brain—is wider than the Sky—
For—put them side by side—
The one the other will contain
With ease—and You—beside—


The Brain is deeper than the sea—
For—hold them—Blue to Blue—
The one the other will absorb—
As Sponges—Buckets—do—


The Brain is just the weight of God—
For—Heft them—Pound for Pound—
And they will differ—if they do—
As Syllable from Sound—

Emily Dickinson

As humans, we inevitably walk down a twisted path of perpetual search. Down this track, we thrive for a common answer to the intricacies of the mind, the core purpose of why we are here and ultimately, like always, to the definition of life. That is what it always boils down to; what is life? Life is like a box of crayons.

Everyone has seen a new box of crayons. Arranged neatly, the colours form a spectrum as they range from yellow to orange to that final black crayon. They each have their own designated space. Not yet used and waiting to be, they are, in a way, pure. Similarly, we are born, waiting to be smothered by someone’s love and set out in the ways our parents choose. Our lives start out fresh and new, waiting for us to alter them.

However, along the way, decisions and mistakes are made. Some are life-altering, others are not. We start at one place and end up at another. It is not always planned, but we are left in a different position with each decision we make as time progresses. Be it getting married, going to college or even buying a new pair of shoes, life gives us a little jolt and we jump a couple of spaces on the board game that is our life. In the same way, as time progresses, the box of crayons loses its neat arrangement. The brown crayon ends up next to the yellow, the purple sandwiched between the green and black. The blue crayon is virtually finished and the grey has snapped in half. Things change.

These decisions and mistakes I talk about are not always easy to make. We have been sent down moral codes, given the ability to build a sense of social and ethical conduct and the freedom to choose between right and wrong. Some things are clear-cut, like a white and black crayon. Yet, sometimes there is a little portion of diplomacy. Something could be right, but it could also be wrong. How do we categorize it then if it is not a white or a black crayon? The small area of in between is our grey crayon.

Not convinced yet? Life is all about meeting different of people. Some are intellectual and interesting while some are ordinary, the sort you could or could not do without. When I was younger, a friend of mine showed me her favourite colour in her crayon box. She showed me the lilac crayon. Not purple, but lilac. Do you know there is not just orange, but there’s tangerine, orange peel, apricot and tangelo crayons too? Sometimes you meet a tangerine person who leaves you with something to think about and sometimes, you meet just a plain orange one.

A random quote on a picture left me thinking: ‘I don’t understand white crayons. Why are they here? What do they want from us?’ Is it not interesting how a white crayon is barely used and how it never seems to venture out from its initial designed space in the crayon box? What is its purpose? Of course, in life, you meet someone who confuses you the same way. You try to understand their actions, their words, but in the end, you fail and they continue to be a part of your life as you struggle to accept the fact that that is all they will ever be.

With time, life becomes haphazard. At what point did the crayon box become so untidy and disorganized? Old age sweeps over us and leaves us just like we were as children i.e. waiting for someone to take care of us. We wait until someone comes and along and rearranges the crayon box to the way it once was.

As humans, we live here and beyond, making our humble abode on earth and in the clouds. We thrive on an illusion and convince ourselves that there is a logical explanation for everything out there. We stare at nothing in the hope that it will soon become something. Enclosed in a fleshy space, we demand for a simple truth that will define life. Life is like a box of crayons. Embrace it.