Entry tags:
Chasing Rainbows
Today I saw the single, most glorious rainbow I have ever witnessed. I'm old enough to have seen plenty - but this one was enormous (about fifteen kilometres wide), thick, and intense - it shone like nothing I have ever seen.
I almost drove into the back of the car in front of me because I was watching it so hard.
As I was marvelling at it and cursing that I did not have a camera, I realised that this rainbow is an analogy of ...well... many things. But the one I am thinking of at the moment, is life.
I watched the rainbow form from its smallest beginnings as I drove. It started out tentatively, teasing at the corners of the clouds. A particular downdraft yielded the first glimmer of colour... there and rapidly gone as the mist cleared. I glanced immediately to the opposite side - nothing. A few minutes later, the right half of the arc slowly shimmered into being. The left base was more aggressive - it flashed into place like a beacon being lit. I returned to watching the road long enough to ensure I wasn't about to crash (and at 100 miles / 140 km per hour, that is important!) and when I looked back up, the arch had closed above me. It intensified over the next minute, the colours becoming more and more distinct. This rainbow had multiple bands, very rare to see, where the underside is built with layers of interference.
At its brightest, the rainbow covered much of northern Toronto. Planes flew through it, and they looked like pinpricks on some fabulously coloured cloth. A second arch formed above the first, subtler and much fainter, but there.
It was so incredible I needed to share it. I called mr. Infie but no answer, so I phoned one of my workmates, also driving home, and told him to look east. He pulled over his car, looked...
and there was no rainbow for him.
It was about this time that the phenomenon (and it was phenomenal) began to fade, as I moved under the clouds and away from the correct angle. Within moments it was gone to my view.
Perspective. Breathtaking beauty. Lost opportunity. Fleeting pleasure. Lasting memories. Regrets. Gratitude.
Just like life.
I almost drove into the back of the car in front of me because I was watching it so hard.
As I was marvelling at it and cursing that I did not have a camera, I realised that this rainbow is an analogy of ...well... many things. But the one I am thinking of at the moment, is life.
I watched the rainbow form from its smallest beginnings as I drove. It started out tentatively, teasing at the corners of the clouds. A particular downdraft yielded the first glimmer of colour... there and rapidly gone as the mist cleared. I glanced immediately to the opposite side - nothing. A few minutes later, the right half of the arc slowly shimmered into being. The left base was more aggressive - it flashed into place like a beacon being lit. I returned to watching the road long enough to ensure I wasn't about to crash (and at 100 miles / 140 km per hour, that is important!) and when I looked back up, the arch had closed above me. It intensified over the next minute, the colours becoming more and more distinct. This rainbow had multiple bands, very rare to see, where the underside is built with layers of interference.
At its brightest, the rainbow covered much of northern Toronto. Planes flew through it, and they looked like pinpricks on some fabulously coloured cloth. A second arch formed above the first, subtler and much fainter, but there.
It was so incredible I needed to share it. I called mr. Infie but no answer, so I phoned one of my workmates, also driving home, and told him to look east. He pulled over his car, looked...
and there was no rainbow for him.
It was about this time that the phenomenon (and it was phenomenal) began to fade, as I moved under the clouds and away from the correct angle. Within moments it was gone to my view.
Perspective. Breathtaking beauty. Lost opportunity. Fleeting pleasure. Lasting memories. Regrets. Gratitude.
Just like life.