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Thanks to a recent Huffington Post slideshow, “The 9 Douchiest Things John Mayer Has Ever Said” (only nine?), I was reminded of this Mayer quote:

“Life is like a box of crayons. Most people are the 8-color boxes, but what you’re really looking for are the 64-color boxes with the sharpeners on the back. I fancy myself to be a 64-color box, though I’ve got a few missing. It’s ok though, because I’ve got some more vibrant colors like periwinkle at my disposal. I have a bit of a problem though in that I can only meet the 8-color boxes. Does anyone else have that problem? I mean there are so many different colors of life, of feelings, of articulation…so when I meet someone who’s an 8-color type…I’m like, ‘hey girl, magenta!’ and she’s like, ‘oh, you mean purple!’ and she goes off on her purple thing, and I’m like, ‘no – I want magenta!’”

I’m not going to comment on the douche factor. Mayer’s statements speak for themselves.

However, call me crazy (or fuchsia!), but I find this quote to be a colorful little injection of romantic optimism for us modern ladies out there.

We’re often told that men are simple creatures who want only the most basic of things from their women – “support, loyalty, and the cookie,” as Steve Harvey defines it in his latest bestselling book: “Be chill, be kind, be willing to have sex. Don’t cheat. Let him watch the football game. Make him feel better when his boss yells at him. A little intelligence, humor and independence can’t hurt, but make sure that it’s all in moderation and you never come across as challenging or intimidating.

So here comes John Mayer, a guy who is living the dream and dating some of the most desirable women in the world. If he wants simple, well, I’m sure that he can find simple on an hourly basis. And this guy is saying that he wants more than what he’s finding. That he wants nuance and complexity and diversity. And all in one woman.Whether his romantic preferences end up reflecting that desire, I can’t predict. But what an idea – that we should play up our different colors and shades and layers, instead of figuring out the few hues that He prefers and hiding the rest.

As women, should we expect to find a man who will understand each and every crayon in our box? Probably not – I’m sure we don’t understand all of them ourselves. But maybe we can hope to find a guy who will love us, and forever be intrigued and fascinated by us, because we naturally have all of those colors. A guy who wants a woman who may be unpredictable at times, but who will always keep him guessing and exploring his own 64-color box of crayons.

Think five, ten, twenty, fifty years down the line. Wouldn’t that make life…and marriage and love and companionship…that much more interesting?

Feb 20, 2010

0 F-YEAH! F-YEAH!