Well the thought hasn’t faded but permeated. I first thought Fading as the technique applied in behavior therapy, where an initial trigger to prompt an action is slowly withdrawn while another is introduced to become the new stimulus.
Then I considered fading of colour and how colours fade over time and are bleached by the elements, white is even transformed by this, it achieves colour. It parallels the way memories fade, the vigour of youth or our identity if we don’t stimulate and feed our passions. Touch up our colour so to speak (a little more red anyone)! Or if we start as a blank canvas can the process add pigment like our friend white.
The fading process brought to mind a brilliant play ‘Long days journey into night’ by Eugene O’Neill with its nuanced fading, shifting of emotional colours and migration from morning to the solace of night and the truth that darkness can disclose.
Black I keep coming back….
I thinking fading is healthy. It also suggests a transition rather than the flick of a switch (from black to white in an instant) which is more realistic. Though, I would like someone to firstly choose my hue for me and then decide when to fade it, over how long and what to replace it with. Choice is paralysing…
I like the parallels! Sometimes fading is not all bad, as long as there are limits. Time heals all wounds, it’s also attributed for creating the vintage look! Still, I see your point. We cannot allow our personalities, image, and passions to fade away.