I’ve lived in quite a few places, in my half a century of existence thus far, spanning southeast Asia and the western coast of North America. So I think I can say this with authority born of experience: it helps when you wake up to such colors in the morning.

Simply: it sets the tone of the day. And if for some reason it already started off-kilter—say, having woken up from a bad dream, or woken up to the noises of someone in the household already in a bad mood—the taking in of such atmospherics enables a reset of the proceedings.

So I guess as far as cognitive experience goes, there’s an intimate link between the visual and psychological. I’m sure there have been studies galore about this. But I don’t really need studies to tell me what I can see and feel in my bones, through my visual sense.

I woke up this morning, stepped out onto the lanai, marveled at the view I never tire of, whatever its variegated moods, and let the colors bleed instantly into me, defining the shape of my day.