Notes from the Path #68 - Good Rainbow Weather

a weekly reflection from my wandering

Every Friday, paid subscribers to A Tender Space receive a short reflection that comes from my time spent among the trees and along the shores of Vancouver Island. Below is a sample of the weekly Notes from the Path you get when you upgrade to paid. (If you’re already a paid subscriber, THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR WORK!)

Good Rainbow Weather

I stepped out of the grocery store, just after the rain had stopped, looked up at the sky and thought “this is good rainbow weather”. Sure enough, I turned my head and there, peaking over the edge of the grocery store roof, was a beautiful rainbow.

After a couple of years on this rainy island, I’ve become more attuned to those moments when rainbows are likely - just after a rain shower, when the sky is still half covered in dark clouds but the sun is peaking through on the other half.

Because I had nowhere else to be (and I believe in chasing beauty), I pulled out of the grocery store parking lot and turned east, in the direction of the rainbow and the lingering storm clouds. I took a chance that the rainbow would still be visible once I’d driven the short distance to the seaside, and, sure enough, there it was, glistening in the sky above the water.

“Good rainbow weather” feels like an apt metaphor for those moments when the storm clouds of life finally shift and there’s a whisper of hope in the sky. “Good rainbow weather” I say to myself when I’ve gone through a period of struggle, anxiety, despair, or grief. In those moments, I’m ready to turn my eyes back toward the sky, to look for the arc that reminds me that I have survived another storm. And sometimes, I’ll even turn my car in that direction so that I can savour the view.

One of my favourite songs, for these moment when I’m looking for rainbows, is “Joy Comes Back” by Ruthie Foster. “I wanna be ready, when joy comes back again… I’ve been downhearted, but I won’t be down for long.”

I wanna be ready for good rainbow weather.