Rainbows are not limited to the skies

Double rainbow with reflection in the water, Lappland Sweden by Jerry Magnum Porsbjer

     Charlie Chaplin once famously said, “You’ll never find a rainbow if you’re looking down”. It is supposed to be a motivational quote, but then a friend of mine quipped that one can also find rainbow reflection in water while looking down. That was certainly a clever observation and a kind of improvement to the original quote. In fact, a full rainbow circle can only be viewed from a plane or some other aerial vehicle while looking down towards the earth. Rainbows can also be seen in prism light, the mist of waterfalls and spray of fountains. Even iridescent surface of a transient soap bubble exhibit something similar.

Mist rainbow at Takakkaw Falls, Canada by Michael Rogers

Rainbow as seen from the Helicopter by Brocken Inaglory

A soap bubble rainbow by Brocken Inaglory

     
     Rainbows represent hope. It is a promise that gloomy clouds are receding. Hope gives us the courage to face grim odds and like rainbows, one can find it in unexpected situations.

  

So I would like to offer a corollary to Charlie’s quote.

“Rainbows are not limited to the skies. You can find these at many different places. Just keep looking and never give up.”

Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons