Symbol of Harmony: The Rainbow

With the latest war in the Middle East I thought about the destruction visited on the world with the Biblical flood back in the times of Noah.

Basically, as the story goes, the world was evil in God’s eyes and so He brought about the flood, saving Noah, his family, and all of the critters. When the waters settled, a dove brought back an olive branch – now a symbol of peace – to show Noah that it was safe to disembark from the ark. God placed a rainbow in the sky as a sign that He would no longer destroy the whole world.

I got to thinking about the rainbow. God said that it would remind Him to go easy down the line if ever the world got evil again. Judging by the number of times you hear people saying with pride and admiration: “Hey, look at the rainbow in the sky over there!” it occurred to me it may also have been put in the sky as a hint to mankind, something that people could ponder, especially since I’m guessing most people think rainbows are pretty. And there’s also the story about the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

I think that at least in Western cultures the love of rainbows is universal, so I’ll go with that thought and then add another. All of the colors are there in the rainbow. If any were missing we’d begin to worry. All the colors are necessary and need to be together for the rainbow to be a thing of beauty.

There’s a heavenly harmony when the colors are all together. Perhaps that’s the direction in which we should be working in our hearts and in our communities: to be inclusive of all. That’s the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and acts of kindness are gold coins filling that pot!

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Ken was a Professor of Mathematics, a ceramicist, a welder, and an IBMer until downsized in 2000. He taught yoga until COVID-19 decided otherwise. He continues writing, living with his wife and beagle in Shorewood, Wisconsin. He enjoys chamber music and mysteries. He’s a homebrewer and runs whitewater rivers. Ken is a writer and his literary works can be found at https://www.kmkbooks.com/

He welcomes feedback on his articles and can be reached at havokjournal@havokmedia.com.

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