Last Monday afternoon, as I got out from the office after a tiring day of work, this was the sight that beholds me. A natural meteorological occurrence that leaves people in awe throughout the ages. I was mesmerized by what I saw, but I never forgot to snap a photo in order for me to share this with you. It’s actually a double rainbow. Double rainbows are phenomena where a second rainbow appears on top of the primary rainbow. This second rainbow has the colors arranged in reversed order with the primary rainbow.
I thought that double rainbows are rare phenomena, but as I delve deeper into the subject, its occurrence is not as rare as I thought. Rainbows occur when sunlight strikes the water droplet which is governed by interesting optical laws namely; reflection, refraction, and dispersion of light. In this case, the water droplet acts as a prism that separates white light into its component colors. Double rainbows occur when light is bounced inside the water droplet twice. It’s a remarkable feat of nature that would always leave me astonished. Anyway, I will not discuss in much detail about the physics of these things because it will took a whole book to do so and you might be more knowledgeable than me regarding this topic.
What I’m going to talk more is about the impression that this particular phenomenon has left me. Lately, I’m not as inspired as I was. I was lost to some extent; however, I could not explain in full detail as to why I’m lost. I’m the kind who always examine myself in terms of my current situation, my future aspirations, and my methods to achieve those aspirations. It seems that I’m caught in the middle of a traffic congestion where I can’t move forward nor backward. My days seem to be gloomy and uneventful. I called it “overwhelmed with adulthood”. Life has bombarded me with “adult” things and I am not ready to face it yet. Ready or not, life will always move forward.
Upon seeing that rainbow, I realized that it was formed when two elements, which are sunlight and raindrop, are in perfect harmony. I thought that maybe I’m in a middle of a rain. A rain of frustrations, disappointments, sadness, and some regrets. It’s dark, wet, slippery, and muddy, but it has to be endured. Maybe it’s just a phase that I have to go through because somewhere, at some point, a light is waiting for me. A light that will shine and together with the raindrops, it will form a beauty to behold. Who would have thought that I just have to see a rainbow to come back to my senses.
I just recently knew that I’m not alone in this kind of feeling. There are people who are like me. My former classmate said that maybe we have this kind of sadness and gloom because we thought that we are on our own. She also thought that maybe we are pressured to act like an adult and deal with problems as an adult. My idea in this is that we are ought to experience this phase in our life. Just like rain, it will come and it will pass. With that rain, a rainbow will form. I am now positive that something great is in store for me ahead. I have to press on and move forward!
Bonus:
Halos are optical phenomenon formed when ice crystals in the cloud interact with the light from the sun or moon. In this case, it is a moon halo or sometimes called as “moon ring”. In the past, they were used in weather forecasting. When a halo occurs, it usually signifies that a rain is imminent within 24 hours. True enough, it rained while we were camping and when we reached the peak of Mt. Manunggal.