When I was in high school, I had an excellent world history-international relations teacher, Paul DeBarthe.

He remains one of my greatest influences.

At the age of 16, he suggesed that instead of going to seminary, I should do something else. I should, in fact, create a color spectrum with words describing the various hues, shades, and tones of love.

For example, starting with the color blue. On one side of a shiny blue you might have the word adoration. Moving through the spectrum you have agua blue, sky blue, royal blue, electric blue perhaps with the words reverence, admiration, respect, and consideration. One has to decide the matching and why It´s an exercise, and practice in remembering love´s infinite varieties, the varieties of color, and the real need to be specific. Why does light blue resonate more with affection and electric more with adoration?

The idea being that each color tone identifies a slighly different experience of being a person.

I have long appreciated the color visual with each shade offering different insight into a memory, room or experience.

Since there are so many ways that we experience love or rather all the colorful variations of it, to describe my feeling towards a super ripe mango last night was veneration.

I was unable to speak it was so delicious. That color, of course, would be a flavorful dark yet creamy orange.