01 Mar The Little Blue House
On one of the busiest streets in Phoenix, squished between two sprawling office complexes, is a little blue house. I pass it twice a day when taking the girls to school and picking them up.
It stands out — a home nestled snugly on a street otherwise dotted with office buildings, medical complexes and restaurants. Seeing a house at all is unexpected.
The next surprising thing is the color. In this desert, most houses are painted a shade of brown. The most daring ones are gray or stark white. But this little house is painted cornflower blue.
And while most houses in this area have solid, tall, cement-block walls surrounding the yard, this house has a low, metal gate you can see right through from the busy road.
Every time I drive by, I look over, wondering about the story of this house. How did a house come to be built between two office buildings? Who chose the color? Why is there such a short, open fence surrounding the home?
Filled with curiosity, I come up with my own stories about this interesting house as I drive back and forth.
I imagine the person who chose the lot preferring this location over other options. Perhaps the builder said, “Are you sure you want to build a house right here between these two office buildings?” And to that, the person replied, “It feels cozy between these two office buildings. There is no better place to build a home.”
I imagine the house painter coming to paint the stucco walls and suggesting a nice taupe to blend in with the office buildings next door. And the person who built the home saying, “No, not brown. I like cornflower blue. It’s a happy color. I choose that.”
And I imagine the fence builder recommending an extra tall wall, with an added layer of trees to block the view of the street and reduce the road noise. And the person who built the home saying, “I like seeing people coming and going and I don’t mind the sound. Give me a fence that will allow me to see people driving this way and that.”
Researchers have termed the wandering mind as our “default mode.” Studies have shown that this default mode is significantly correlated with unhappiness, finding that much of the time when our mind wanders, we are ruminating about the past or worrying about the future.
Yet, here’s the interesting catch. When people’s minds wander about something they find especially interesting — say, a little blue house — they are actually happier.
I may not ever know the story of the little blue house. But I’m grateful for the moments of happiness it has brought me over the years as my mind wanders and wonders.