Candy Corn Colors

Candy Corn Colors

Oranges, golds, bright yellow, and browns are the colors of Fall here in the Midwestern U.S. The sunrises and sunsets are more regal with swaths of red and orange. These Fall colors are everywhere, including the groceries, mega stores and drug stores. Candy Corn calls out from the corner shelves and endcaps in each store. And when that call goes out, I hear it loud and clear!

What is it about a waxy, orange and yellow sugar glob that calls to me so? Is it the childhood recollections of candy overload that comes this time of year? Is Candy Corn triggering the excitement and wonder I felt as a child as Halloween celebrations approached? Does the sight of Candy Corn stir some long silent hope for joy and play that doesn’t get much expression in my 50 hour work week? Or is Candy Corn simply calling me to awareness of the vibrance of the colors of Fall?

Or could it be the physiological recollection of the sugar shocking my system as I ate and ate and ate followed by the crash and numbness? I call it the “anesthesia factor”. Whichever mental/emotional connections triggered the purchase of Candy Corn as an adult, the outcome was the same – a sugar high, numbness, and crash. Now you may not be like me and sugar, as we have a long, illustrious history together and I am much better off to avoid the stuff all together. You may not struggle to eat a moderate portion of candy and then walk away.

So far, this Halloween season (which begins in September!) I have successfully, mindfully avoided eye contact with the CORN. Oh, yea! You gotta avoid eye contact if you want to avoid, the question:  “Oh, just one bag?”  OK, the eye contact avoidance may be over the top but works for me! If their beady little eyes don’t catch me looking, I can get out the store safely with real food or the poster board I needed.

With my body, emotions and childhood memories so primed for purchasing Candy Corn, it takes focused mindfulness to get out of the store safely. Late in September, when I went to the drugstore, I was not prepared and had to veer away from the aisles of orange and yellow, take a breath and focus, then focus on my purpose in the store. Since then, I mentally prepare myself for the visual and olfactory onslaught in stores. I stick firmly to my commitment to be sugar free and stick to my list. I also reflected on, what it is about Candy Corn in particular that is so triggering?

I am aware that Candy Corn is a small waxy object in a bag (sometimes bigger than my head), not a  Demon I need to outsmart. But for me, sometimes I must muster all my mindfulness resources. One tool that is genuinely helpful in mindfully overcoming triggers is The Question: Pause, Breathe deeply and ask, “What do I truly want?” when a craving arises. If I am craving a treat, choose a treat that is life supporting. If I am craving fun, think of a silly joke to tell your colleague or plan a fun event, and get outside as soon as possible to walk on the earth. Walking may turn into skipping, if it’s that child in you who wants to play, or it may be a slow focused walk with an eye on your breath.

As the air turns crisp, the colors vibrant, and the Candy Corn calls, maybe it’s a call back to Self. A call to remember that although childhood was a long time ago, play is still important and joy can be found in the little things. When you ask “What do I truly want?”, be gentle and loving with yourself and give yourself what you truly want. Go ahead and giggle!


JME Affirmation for the Day: 
I am aware of what I truly want. I honor myself, by asking, listening and providing myself the sustenance I truly want and need.