The End of the Rainbow

“Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true”

Familiar lyrics. My skies have been gray for a while now. During the course of the last year, a culmination of storms has been looming over my life, creating a veil of self-doubt and shielding me from the sunshine. When I finally took the time to count my blessings, and stopped wallowing in self-pity, something wonderful happened. The clouds began to dissipate, allowing little bursts of brilliant blue to peek through every now and again.

Yesterday, while driving home with my sister and niece in the car, we spotted a rainbow. It didn’t appear to be very vivid, as it was softened through the haze of fog that had settled on the ground from the contrast of the cool droplets of rain and the humidity rising from the earth. Looking ahead in the road through the trees, we spotted what appeared to be the end of the rainbow. It reached down from the sky, the colors bleeding into the muddled green backdrop of the forest. It was breathtaking. We passed directly under it, and it disappeared quickly behind us. My sister and I, both wide-eyed in amazement, looked to each other to confirm that what we had witnessed was not a hallucination. It was, truly, the end of the rainbow. The proverbial, highly coveted mirage so gloriously wished to gaze upon in poetry and dreams. It’s real.

Every single day is filled with little miracles from above. Reflecting on yesterday, I started thinking about my life. I’ve been wandering around for a while now, seemingly searching for my rainbow. Little did I know that all along, it has been inside me, just waiting to shine. What I realized is those azure glances from the sky were a combination of the colors of my soul, coming back to life. Each shade represents something unique about me, blended together to create the perfect prism – a complicated, passionate, hopeful woman, blessed by the grace of God, and humbled by her humanity.

Red is the color of passion. It is undying and flows from within me, touching every aspect of what my life is, who I am, and what I aspire to be. The greatest of this passion is love, and I choose to give it unconditionally and whole-heartedly.

Orange is the color of hope. Of all the things I hope for in life, the one thing that stands clear and true in my mind is that I leave this earth having made a difference. When all else is lost, or confusion and doubt is at hand, hope will overshadow them.

Yellow is the color of happiness. Be it returning a smile from a stranger, singing along to a good song on the radio, or sitting on the front porch listening to the evening wind, the simple pleasures mean something so much more to me now.

Green is the color of new beginnings. Like the tiny buds that bloom on a tree after a long winter, I’m wiping the sleep from my eyes to awaken to a new spring, a fresh season of new opportunities in my life.

Blue is the color of possibilities. It stretches out before me, vast and endless like the sky, begging me to embrace my future. It is filled with the clouds of similar souls on my journey. The bright hues are precious moments. The deep indigo hues encourage me to improve on my mistakes.

Violet is the color of mystique. The aching beauty of mortality is so much more vibrant when colored by the mystery of the unknown. I am not guaranteed to wake up each day, so I will treasure each moment.

My passage under the arch of the rainbow was brief, but those few seconds touched my soul. I emerged on the other side with a newfound appreciation of my existence, and all of the wonderful miracles that make it so beautiful. My faith, family and friends are the treasures that make each day priceless.

I’m learning to fall in love with life again. What a beautiful descent.

“Where troubles melt like lemon drops,
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me…”