The End of the Rainbow

A while ago, when driving with my eldest daughter, we were in awe of a rainbow that was before us. As we drove closer towards the intersection, we were amazed to see that the end of the rainbow was appearing right before our very eyes. The beautiful colours pooled together to sit on a vacant lot slated for construction. It was rather unappealing… construction fence, rocks, debris and dirt! How disappointing! No magical shamrocks floating in the air, no tiny men in little green suits dancing about, and certainly no pot of gold to be found… just a desolate looking piece of ground.

Last week, both daughters joined me for lunch and a pedicure. Our first real ‘girl day’ in a long time and somehow the topic of this rainbow came up. My eldest daughter, Myriah, giggled her way through the story telling her sister how finding the end of the rainbow and it not being a pretty sight, could only happen to us. Dale, my younger daughter, was quick to respond, “Maybe it wasn’t the end of the rainbow. Maybe that was the beginning and it isn’t supposed to be magical.” All three of us had an ‘aha’… yeah, maybe it wasn’t the end that we found, it was just the beginning.

What Dale’s response reminded me of is that everything ‘is a matter of perspective.’ It’s the half empty – half full thing. We can look at life and think that what is going on is unfair. Or we can look at the situation and ask, “What am I to learn from this? What is the gift in this experience?” Oh I know, at the time, some of our experiences are more like torture and don’t look anything like a present wrapped in pretty paper and bows. I have had those experiences too, but when I do the work of healing my broken heart, I do find a gift in the experience. Sometimes it’s my own strength, my resourcefulness, my determination to survive, or the incredible amount of love given freely to me by family and friends.

So yes, I still believe in the magic at the end of the rainbow for I know that what I see is truly dependant on my interpretation.