Color Collecting Walks To Shift Your Mood

Pocket-sized adventures that turn errands into treasure hunts

Jul 16, 2025

illustration by Abbie Winters for NoomaLooma

Welcome to our creative play practice series—micro moments of creativity that fit into the margins of busy lives. Because daily creative play keeps the blahhhs at bay.

The Practice: Color Collection

When I'm feeling meh or stuck in a funk, I take myself on Wonder Wanders. I leave the house with the mission to tune my senses to the frequency of delight, and search out little beauties, amusements, and things I haven’t noticed before. I look up! I look down! I get wayyy up close to things and examine them in detail. It’s a way of stirring up glimmers of joy when I'm feeling disconnected.

Wonder Wanders tap into what psychologists call "soft fascination"—sights and sensations that gently capture our attention without overwhelming us. Unlike the exhausting focus that screens and daily stress demand, this effortless engagement allows our minds to wander and restore.

I have many flavors of Wonder Wander, but one of my favorites is the Color Collection excursion.

First I ask myself: what feeling do I want to invite in today? Then I assign that feeling a color and go out looking for it. So, for example, if I’m feeling full of doubt, I might decide I need trust and go out looking for deep blue. Or perhaps I’ve been feeling fugly and I want to feel more like a princess so I look for regal purple. Each time, what I need and what I look for is different.

On a recent Color Collection walk I needed an energy boost, so I decided to look for JOLT-OF-ENERGY ORANGE: a dose of visual vitamin C for my depleted self.

As I bopped around the city on errands, I collected hits of orange with my eyes. A blood orange Vespa streaking by, tangerine flowers offering good cheer, construction barricades so bright they slapped me awake, and even a towering oversized orange sitting comically by the side of the road. Each pop was like a visual spell, rewiring my mood.

First, you notice what's going on inside (Am I feeling blah? Anxious? Need some joy?), then you turn that awareness outward and hunt for exactly what you need in the world around you.

See the neighborhood with clue-seeking eyes, find bursts of your chosen feeling painted across storefronts, tucked into flower boxes, and blazing across someone's sneakers. Once you’ve filled your imaginary color-collecting bucket, take a peek back inside your heart and see if anything shifted. You might be surprised at the difference a little color can make!

Can't get outside? No problem! You can absolutely do this practice indoors—I spent one afternoon hunting for pops of pink throughout my apartment and found many cheerful moments: a searing neon zine, a rosie construction paper heart, a strawberry stuffie reaching for a huggie.

Try It Yourself

What color is calling to your spirit this week? Pick your feeling, choose your color, then go fill your color prescription. Turn your next expedition—whether it's around the block, across the city, or tour of your own apartment—into a wonder wander. Let your eyes become collectors, gathering visual doses of whatever it is you’re craving.

Maybe you need ocean blue for calm, or sunshine yellow for energy, or peachy pink for warm fuzzies.

Drop your color choice in the chat and let us know what you discover.