I Saw a Rainbow Last Night.
I let Nigel (our seven-month-old Chihuahua-mix puppy) out to pee, and there it was. It was from the top of our house to the end of our garage. I thought to myself, “when was the last time I saw a rainbow in real life?” I mean, you can pretty much find ten or more while you scroll through your Instagram feed on any given day. Or just do a google search whenever you want. And there they are the perfect rainbow.
But I thought to myself, “when was the last time that saw one in real-time in real life?” And you know what, I couldn’t remember. I have literally no idea when I last saw a rainbow.
So (of course, have to catch this perfect Instagram-able moment) I quickly ran back to get my phone to snap a picture. And I asked Chris, “Hey, when was the last time you saw a rainbow? Do you want to see one?” To my disappointment, he didn’t care, and his answer was no. As I walked quickly outside (as if the rainbow was going to disappear in moments) and snapped a few shots, I thought to myself, “why wouldn’t he want to see it?” I mean, if I couldn’t remember when the last time I saw a rainbow he surely wasn’t going to remember. And I was irritated. Why couldn’t he just be in the moment with me? Why couldn’t he peal himself off the couch and away from the TV for 2.5 seconds to see what a miracle is?
After shooting several photos, of course, some in landscape and some portrait (I mean, who knows where you are going to want to share it too), I then pulled up my Instagram stories and selected the best from my camera roll. I tried to pick a filter that did the photo justice. And boom my second disappointment. None of the filters did the rainbow justice. Irritated, I decided to go without a filter at all. Looking back at this whole experience, I realized what I had done.
After taking some time to think about the experience today, I realized that:
1. Being present is up to us and just us.
2. Being present isn’t about savoring (capturing the perfect Instagram photo) the moment for the future but enjoying the current moment.
3. We cannot expect those around you to be present when you aren’t practicing being present ourselves.
We cannot make someone else be present or enjoy a special moment. And if we try, it isn’t going to have the same meaning as if they had chosen to be present themselves. We can lead by example and offer up the opportunity to join us, but it is pointless to force or be disappointed when someone even someone we love dearly doesn’t want to partake.
Being present is up to us alone, and we can choose it for ourselves anytime we want. Even though it is for ourselves, we can encourage others by being a great example. But we cannot be a great example if we are too focused on snapping a photo for Instagram or to keep in our camera roll for later.
So, my miracle rainbow did exactly what it needed to it made me appreciate
- Being present,
- Not forcing others (I love you Chris) to be present
- And if I really want others to do something (like be present) I first have to align myself with what I am trying to encourage others to do.
#TheUniverseWorksInMysteriousWays
Kathryn Sogard 