THE COLOR BLUE WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE EGYPTIANS..🦋
The color blue was first produced by ancient Egyptians, who discovered how to create a permanent pigment that they used for their decorative arts.
The color blue has continued to evolve for 6,000 years and has been used by teachers of all ages to create some of the most iconic works in the world. And it doesn’t stop there, as it continues to evolve: the new shade of blue was discovered less than a decade ago.
Blue was used by the Egyptians to paint pottery pieces, statues and even decorate the tombs of Pharaohs.
Egyptian Blue is the oldest known artificial pigment. Throughout human history, the color blue has been closely associated with royalty and divinity, primarily due to the difficulty of obtaining it. While blue pigments were used early on, they were adopted later than other colors like red, black, brown, or ochre, which were easier to find in nature and already widely used in art.
The most prized blue pigment historically was derived from minerals such as lapis lazuli, which is both rare and expensive. The largest deposits of lapis lazuli are found in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan, where the mining techniques used today are quite similar to those employed over 3,000 years ago. The Egyptians imported large quantities of lapis lazuli from these mines to obtain azurite, the powder that produced the blue pigment they used to embellish their artworks. The cost of this pigment was so high that even in medieval times, it was still four times more expensive than gold.
Around 3000 BC, the Egyptians began searching for a way to create their own blue pigment. Over time, they perfected a technique that involved grinding together silica, lime, copper, and an alkaline base, then heating the mixture to 800-900 degrees Celsius. The result was the first synthetic pigment in history.
The Egyptians used this pigment to paint wood, papyrus, and canvases, as well as to color enamels, inlays, and vessels. It was especially prominent in funerary contexts, such as masks, statues, and tomb paintings, as they believed that the color blue protected the deceased from evil in the afterlife. The oldest known example of this pigment dates back around 5,000 years and was found in the painting of a tomb from the reign of Ka-Sen, the last Pharaoh of the First Dynasty. During the New Kingdom, Egyptian Blue was widely used as a pigment in statues, tomb paintings, and sarcophagi.
Fun fact: In 2006, scientists discovered that Egyptian blue glows in fluorescent light, indicating that the pigment emits infrared radiation. This discovery was great news for historians, as it is much easier to identify color in ancient artifacts.
Can I tell you a secret? You don’t have to be in a relationship.
I mean it. I know they force it down your throat until you choke on it. Girls aren’t pretty unless they’re wanted. Boys aren’t men unless they’re having sex with someone. People aren’t lovable until they’re dating someone.
But a relationship won’t always make you happy, and as wonderful as romance is, it isn’t the only love that exists. I have seen friendships that are deeper and more pure than couples who swear it’s forever - and yet the friendship is the one people ignore.
I have heard so often “nobody loves me” out of the mouths of people who are single. And it kills me because if you ask them: where are your parents, your teachers, your classmates, your pets - they say, yes, okay, but it doesn’t count. Of course it counts, love doesn’t diminish just because someone doesn’t want to have sex with you. In fact, doesn’t it sort of make that love more real that they want nothing - not even a date - out of you?
It is pretty to be in love. It’s magical, I’m sure. But it’s also wonderful to stop for ice cream in your prom dress with six other girls. It’s also wonderful to go visit the world with nothing but a bunch of buddies who are really excited about learning.
The problem is: we’ve made everything about “the one”. But maybe “the one” is just you, loving yourself, having fun, and being happy. Maybe instead of looking for our other halves, we should be piecing ourselves together.
Maybe I wasn’t born unfinished. Maybe I am the one who makes myself better.
.
Any man can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
This life, which had been the tomb of his virtue and of his honour, is but a walking shadow; a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
William Shakespeare
"I’m a solo adventurer, I am a loner. I am the woman you see alone drinking tea and reading a book. I am the one who takes herself out on dates and sits all by herself, without shame. I am the woman who attends concerts without feeling awkward about being there alone. I sing my heart out and have a hell of a good time.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that doing things alone is wonderful. I mean sure, sometimes it’s fun to be around other people. However, so many underestimate how much we can enjoy certain activities without any company. Some people think of “being alone” and “doing things alone” as being something bad. It either means you’re anti-social or you’re a “loser”, and this social stigma is wrong.
Once I changed my mentality and started to live my life as I please I found this astounding feeling of freedom, freedom of being me, freedom to do whatever the hell I want to do. And let me tell you that there’s no better feeling than enjoying your own company.
In these past few years when I started to do things alone, I have experienced the best times of my life. I’ve taken trips alone and have made unforgettable memories.
I have learned to become my own best friend. I am the woman who chooses to do fun things alone, doing things alone feels normal to me."
"Once in your life, you may find someone who completely transforms your world. They listen to your deepest thoughts and dreams, sharing in both your triumphs and disappointments. Their presence brings a comforting calmness, where you can truly be yourself without fear of judgment.
They celebrate your joys, comfort you in your sorrows, and never make you feel inadequate. Simple things become treasured memories, and their influence makes everyday moments feel special. You find joy and fulfillment in their company, and even the smallest details remind you of them.
Being with this person opens your heart to a love so profound that it can be both exhilarating and terrifying. You discover strength in their loyalty and cherish the excitement and meaning they bring to your life."
“I do believe in an everyday sort of magic -- the inexplicable connectedness we sometimes experience with places, people, works of art and the like; the eerie appropriateness of moments of synchronicity; the whispered voice, the hidden presence, when we think we're alone.”
― Charles de Lint
I'm slowly learning that even if I react, it won't change anything, it won't make people suddenly love and respect me, it won't magically change their minds.
Sometimes it's better to just let things be, let people go, don't fight for closure, don't ask for explanations, don't chase answers and don't expect people to understand where you're coming from.
I'm slowly learning that life is better lived when you don't center it on what's happening around you and center it on what's happening inside you instead.
--- Rania Naim
“Grief, I’ve learned, is really just love. It’s all the love you want to give, but cannot. All that unspent love gathers up in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat, and in that hollow part of your chest. Grief is just love with no place to go.”
~ Jamie Anderson
They will call you ""crazy"" because you are, because you were born with the gift of seeing things differently and that scares them."
They're going to call you "intense" because you are, because you were born with the value well placed to allow yourself to feel it all fully and that intimidates them.
They're going to call you "selfish" because that's right, because you found out that you're the most important thing in your life and that doesn't suit them.
You’re going to be called in many ways, with many judgments, for a long time, but stay firm on yourself and what you want, and I promise you one day they’re going to call you to say, “thank you for existing." -Frida Kahlo
"Not all toxic people are cruel and uncaring. Some of them love us dearly. Many of them have good intentions. Most are toxic to our being simply because their needs and way of existing in the world force us to compromise ourselves and our happiness.
They aren’t inherently bad people, but they aren’t the right people for us. And as hard as it is, we have to let them go. Life is hard enough without being around people who bring you down, and as much as you care, you can’t destroy yourself for the sake of someone else.
You have to make your well being a priority. Whether that means breaking up with someone you care about, loving a family member from a distance, letting go of a friend, or removing yourself from a situation that feels painful — you have every right to leave and create a safer space for yourself."
— Daniell Koepke
After tragedies, one has to invent a new world, knit it or embroider, make it up. It’s not gonna be given to you because you deserve it; it doesn’t work that way. You have to imagine something that doesn’t exist and dig a cave into the future and demand space. It’s a territorial hope affair. At the time, that digging is utopian, but in the future, it will become your reality.
~Björk
[Art: Sofia Bonati]