Let your rainbow shine bright!

Remember that one shopping trip I referred to in my Kindness Matters blog post where I found other inspirational items that I could potentially blog about for future posts? Well, I happened to capture this photo of an amazing t-shirt that's all about rainbows.

It says, "The greater your storm, the brighter your rainbow." I absolutely love this because it suggests that the more we have to endure in life (our storms), the brighter we shine, revealing our strength and wisdom as we learn and grow! We have this amazing opportunity as we grow to share our experiences with others and inspire them as they deal with their own storms. We can help them shine bright too!

“Rainbows introduce us to reflections of different beautiful possibilities so we never forget that pain and grief are not the final options in life.”

-Aberjhani, American historian, columnist, novelist, poet, artist, and editor

I was so touched by the message from this t-shirt that I wanted to discover more symbolisms and spiritual meanings of rainbows. In my search, I did find some of the more well-known meanings of rainbows, such as creation, divinity, hope, harmony, and good luck.

And then I stumbled upon some deeper meanings:

Magical Blessings: I'll take a few joy-filled cups of magical blessings, please! This meaning is all about having hope as we pursue our heart's desires. Then, once we get to the end of the rainbow, we experience blessings, the fulfillment of those desires.

Serendipity: Whenever we see a double rainbow (which is an AMAZING sight to behold), serendipity is on its way! We can stay true to who we are and trust our intuition.

Closeness with Spirit/a Higher Power: Rainbows are believed to be a sign from the spiritual realm to keep going and not give up. We have the ultimate support from a Higher Power energy!

Unity and Connection: Since rainbows are created from the refraction and reflection of light, they also symbolize unity and connection. If we dive further into this meaning, which is commonly-shared across many cultures, the rainbow is seen as a bridge that unites the sky and the earth by being the connection between the two. This reminds me of one of my favorite songs about rainbows, Rainbow Connection.

Music/lyrics by Paul Williams & Kenneth Ascher (1979)

Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher wrote the music and lyrics for this timeless song for The Muppet Movie. Williams has often referred to the song as "Kermit's 'I am' song" that shows "Kermit has an inner life, a spiritual life." Who knew that Kermit was so spiritual!

Williams also describes the song as revealing that there's an "immense power in faith", and "there's more beauty in the questions than the answers."

Last year, I created some "quarantine art." This piece was completed after watching The Muppet Movie, which I hadn't seen in over 20 years. My dog Reesee became the main character for fun but also to illustrate another example of child-like faith.

I believe that the "rainbow connection" is achieved when we are powerfully united in faith as "lovers and dreamers." We decide to keep dreaming and believing that what we want in life will manifest. That's what Kermit does with this song at both the start and the end of the movie: he connects with the audience and makes us all a part of his entire journey as he fulfills his own dreams. He makes it our collective journey to share together.

"Keep believing, keep pretending" my friends and check out my rendition of Rainbow Connection, inspired by Karen Carpenter's version!