Frank J. Buchman

Cowboy • Horseman • Writer

Colorful arc after rain most meaningful

“There was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”

Actually, we didn’t go search for that, but the evening was described by others as “gorgeous,” and “just perfect,” after the gigantic rainbow disappeared in the clouds.

It had been an indecisive early evening as much needed showers lingered forcing inquisitions whether there would be a rodeo after a performance being canceled the night before due to rain.

“The show will go on” was management’s decision as rains continued, but then, the skies cleared. A small vertical rainbow appeared in the east, followed by the largest, most beautiful rainbow one could ever image covering the horizon to create a dazzling spectacle and optimistic feeling, setting tone for a thoroughly enjoyable rodeo.

While we didn’t do well in science, review of what a rainbow really is seems appropriate.

According to the encyclopedia Aunt Lu gave us four decades ago: “A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection of light in water droplets in the Earth’s atmosphere, resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky as a multicolored arc.”

Actually it’s much more complex, but that’s scientific enough for a simple cowboy. Each of a rainbow’s colors, blue, red, yellow, orange green, indigo and violet, has significance.

Blue transpires distance, encouraging one to look beyond the present towards the unknown. Yellow is associated with the sun and its life giving and sustaining energy. Red brings about energy, enthusiasm, interest, passion and security.

Orange encourages creativity, playfulness and practical exploration. Green conveys harmony, sympathy, health, balance and expansion. Indigo represents the bridge between finite and infinite, opening doors to the mystical. Violet generates spiritual mastery leading to practicality and stabilizing energy.

Rainbows have been used as a sign of a new era symbolizing peace, love and freedom. When seeing a rainbow, most get an inward feeling that after all the work one puts in; there will be just reward in the end.

Reminds us of Genesis 9:12: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature, for perpetual generations. I set My rainbow in the clouds, and it shall be for the sign of My covenant that waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.”

+++ALLELUIA+++

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