“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain”. – Dolly Parton
We are all familiar with the romanticization of summer that is prevalent in our culture, but we are also well aware that this season does not always live up to the romantic ideal. Popular culture is always filled with images of summer as a time to let loose, relax, and enjoy. However, we also know that summer can also often be filled with turbulent and stressful times. It is a time of transition and change as much as it is a time to take a breather. Summer is filled with as many storms as sunshine, both literally and figuratively. Life is full of drastic contrasts, and summer is the time where nature most reveals its duality. We experience intense summer storms but right after comes the calm and if we are lucky, out comes a rainbow to brighten our lives and to remind us of the beauty that comes from every tempest.
This dual nature is reflected in our personal lives as well. Summer is a time of the year that seems to be filled with endless possibilities, but it is also often filled with plenty of obstacles. Despite it all, every year, we have managed to come out on the other side of all the ups and downs that this season always brings. Whatever awaits us this summer, we must remember that we will come out on the other side and we must continue to hold tight to the promise of hope and stay open to the beauty that life is always showing us if we are only willing to see it. If we are lucky, we can also manage to learn something from this season that we can carry with us for the rest of the year and that can hopefully transform us and make us stronger. If we also manage to put our heads to it, we will also be able to see the beauty in every situation, whether it be good or bad. Sometimes it comes in the obvious form of a rainbow or any kind of obvious reward that is presented to us. However, other times we have to create the rainbow in our own lives and realize sometimes the reward and the beauty of the turbulent times is being able to create our own awe-inspiring ray of light and color within ourselves.
Most people rejoice at that sight of a rainbow which usually indicates the end of the storm of the day. It is beautiful, bright, colorful, and awakens our sense of wonder. We must always remember that there would be no such thing as a rainbow without rain, and such is life. Life will have its ups and downs, its storms and its rainbows, and good times followed by bad ones, and vice versa. This duality of nature and of life is what reminds us that we are alive and that there is always something to look forward to and that we will always be surprised by what life comes to offer us. We should be open to life’s surprises and to all its highs and lows in order to be able to see the rainbow at the end of the storm, which will forever symbolize better days to come.
