March 29, 2024

The year 2020 marks the start of a brand new decade, and so let’s start it off with the fact that Disney’s Pocahontas was telling the truth when she said that we can paint with all the colors of the wind.
Say what? How is that even possible if the wind is invisible? Well, “normal” people may not clearly see the colors of the wind, but people with synesthesia possibly can.
Synesthesia is a neurological condition where there are two sensory responses to one stimulus – meaning, two of our five basic senses are activated at the same time. This is considered as a sensory phenomenon, not a mental disorder.
When people with sound-to-color synesthesia hear the melody of a violin, some visualize the color yellow while others detect purple. As for those who have lexical-gustatory synesthesia, they taste something sweet if they see the word “yellow” or hear someone speak in French. The list goes on. There are over a hundred types of synesthesia, and people with the same type don’t have the same experiences.
Isn’t that interesting? People living with synesthesia is like living everyday life with special effects or super powers: hearing colors, tasting shapes, visualizing emotions, etc. When interviewed for a study, most of them said that it is but normal for them to have such extra-sensory abilities, and thinking about not having synesthesia in their life is like depriving them of sensing properly.
Even up to this time, the main root of this condition is yet to be fully understood. Though, many modern scientific theories propose that we all have a certain percentage of synesthesia; factors like early brain development and inherited genetic makeup can contribute to the type/s of synesthesia we bear and also influence the height of prominence it has in our lives.
Pocahontas sang “Colors of the Wind” to John Smith in order to make him “see” that their homeland is not for personal profit because it is worth so much more than that. As for us who are now aware that there’s a potential synesthesia in us, let’s “seek” the realization that to nurture self-awareness brings more worth to our current perceptions in life.
Each of us may not be able to see all the colors of the wind because some of us may hear, taste, smell or feel it instead. There’s always room for self-discovery, and the cue is to know you. — Sam Palaci Aquino