Rainbows are made possible by the physics of light refracting through water droplets in the air and the eye's ability to see different colors. But stop a minute and think about them. Life would go on without rainbows. Rainbows don't affect the weather. They don't help human beings survive. They don't do much of anything.
I remember walking in a meadow in the Scottish highlands, worrying whether I was going to get caught in the rain. I looked across the meadow toward the green hills nearby and all at once spied a huge, bright, double rainbow. It arched across the sky in colors so vivid that I could see each one clear and true -- red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet. There was a low mist on the earth where the colors approached. The rainbow seemed to touch the ground softly as if to say, "There, there.
Ordinary rainbows can give me just as much pleasure. I find myself watching for "rain end" whenever the sun comes out quickly, as that's when rainbows are likely to appear. I climb on roofs to get a better look when I see one. I linger for an extra moment so my eyes can drink in the beauty. For me, life is a little sweeter because of rainbows.
There didn't have to be rainbows!
© 1998, Wil Marshman |
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