Chasing Rainbows

I'm not Irish.  I'd love to visit Ireland, but I've never been.  And I'm not Irish, so I don't have an Irish story to share on St. Patrick's Day.  I'm Polish and English, and this is as close to a St. Patrick's Day theme as I could get.

When I was younger, leprechauns, four leaf clovers, and rainbows went together.  The leprechauns hid their pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, and if you followed the rainbow to its end, you would find the gold.  Whenever it rained, we would wait for the sun to come out and reveal the rainbow.  Then we'd try to guess where the rainbow ended, and say that someone there must be rich.  Rainbows held the promise of riches and dreams come true.  If we happened to be in the car, we would drive along the length of the rainbow, trying to parallel its end point.  Of course no matter how far or fast we drove, the end of the rainbow was always just ahead of us until it eventually dissolved in a flood of sunlight. 

Being older and having spent my undergraduate career studying Earth Science, Meteorology, and basic Physics, I now know that rainbows do not have a physical end point.  Contrary to what you may think, gaining that knowledge did not diminish the magical connotation of rainbows in my mind- it actually increased it.

Knowing the meteorological conditions that need to come together for a rainbow to form, makes their occurrence more intriguing.  Rainbows do not form after every rainstorm.  The size of the water droplets, the position of the sun, and other factors determine the appearance of a rainbow.  For conditions to be just right for a rainbow to form, is still pretty magical. 

Then there's the characteristic of not having an end point.  Rainbows are bridges with an infinite amount of starting points and ending locations.  A bridge spanning infinite distances...that's pretty magical too. 

And then there's that 'promise of dreams coming true'... Life certainly has its share of rainy days.  Even on the dreariest day though, a little light shining just right can make a rainbow form.  And that rainbow can be the impetus, the motivation and inspiration for moving forward out of the rain and into the sunshine, along the path to achieving your dream. 

Rainbows are also in endless supply.  Whether you achieve your first dream or have to give it up, there are plenty of other dreams to pursue and rainbows to follow.  You just have to wait for the right conditions to come together.

Finally, if you're impatient and don't like waiting for the rain to end, you can always make your own rainbow.

 Magic that everyone can do...

'the lovers, the dreamers, and me/you'!