In the Bible, God is said to have put the rainbow in the sky as a promise to all life on Earth that there would never again be an all-destructive flood like the one Noah experienced. In this strange, dark time, the rainbow is being used by both children and adults around the world as a symbol to rally hope and cheer, to remind ourselves that sunnier, happier times will return after this most tumultuous of storms.
Today, on Good Friday, as I sit in prayer and remembrance of what Jesus chose to do in the name of Love, I am granted another insight into the rainbow.
I see the bright and glorious bow of light up in the sky as half of a complete whole. Its other half is buried deep beneath Earth, invisible to my naked eye. Just as the higher arc reflects the glory of the heavens, I imagine that the lower half would reflect the beauty of inner earth. It would glimmer even in the darkest depths, and the deepest hues of violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red – though unfamiliar to me – would be just as lovely.
Much has been said by many about what this pandemic means for both nature and humanity. Some rejoice in the restoration of Nature. Others focus on making the best of the situation. Yet others mourn the loss of old ways and focus on regaining what they cannot let go of.
To paraphrase Charles Dickens in A Tale Of Two Cities, this is “the best of times and the worst of times. It is the age of wisdom, it is the age of foolishness, it is the epoch of belief, it is the epoch of incredulity.”
What it boils down to is this: Depending on how little or how much we are choosing to learn and grow from this crisis, we are behaving either very, very badly or really, really well.
Has it occurred to you that the “stay home” policy that the world’s governments are enforcing right now could be the Universe’s call for us to go within? Basically, the time for dancing around home truths is over. We are very firmly being made to sit down, sit still and take stock.
Look deep into yourself. Be still. Breathe. Ask: What about all this frightens me most? Why? What part of my life now do I hate most? Why? What do I miss most? Why? What about this different life do I like or love most? Why? Keep asking why until you get down to brass tacks.
The world is changing as we speak. And change can be both terrible and awesome. It brings out the worst in us when we allow fear and selfishness to rule. But it also brings out the best in us if we allow our nobility of spirit to come through.
Just as a seed must nestle deep in the earth before it can sprout to life and, in time, offer the world its beauty, its shelter, or even itself as nourishment.
Just as Good Friday, one of history’s darkest moments, had to come before Easter Sunday, which gave birth to the brightest of hope through faith.
Liken yourself to the rainbow. That part of you that shoots out of the earth across the heavens is your Higher Self – bright, beautiful, a visible testament to the Divine. But also acknowledge that you have a Lower Self that puts itself above and before others, that is full of fear, of greed, of ego … the dark side that you keep hidden from the world. For it, too, holds God’s promise, and the potential to transform into the light, the bright and the beautiful.
Understand that light and dark are part of the balance. Know that you have the power to turn darkness into light. And realise that we are being given that opportunity now.
Photo above taken by Ben Neale