Look to the Rainbow

"And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down.
Without the rain, there would be no rainbow."
- G.K. Chesterton


I have always been a huge fan of rainbows.

It began when I was 2 years old with a girl named Dorothy, a pair of red shoes and a song about rainbows. My obsession with both red shoes and rainbows is still going strong 26 years later.


There is always going to be rain in our lives. Sometimes it pours, sometimes there are horrific thunderstorms that don't seem as if they will ever let up. My Mom recently said to me, "Caroline, you have always been able to find the rainbows in the midst of rain," but I am realizing that not everyone can do that so easily.

What is it that allows people to stay so positive in the face of adversity? Is it our faith in a higher power? Is it the love and support of our family and friends that helps get us through the hard times? Or is it just something we are born with...that inner strength, the voice telling us to keep going, keep fighting and that things will be okay? Does everyone have that voice or not?

When my aunt Marilyn was fighting breat cancer I sent her a card that read, "Do you ever feel like your guardian angel went out for a smoke?" That the world has turned its back on you and Life has let you down? I believe it is in those moments when our true character emerges. My Mom and I call it that certain "Umph" that people have...that ability to dig down deep inside and pull out tenacity and strength that they may not have even known they had.

When I see people giving up...giving in to the anger and fear and pain, I wish I could just inject them with Umph. I wish I could hold them and tell them that even in the midst of terrible storms there are still wonderful moments to be shared...that even in the midst of chronic pain and an uncertain future and bodies that are failing us, our spirit and our hearts can become stronger than ever. I wish I could make those people see the Unbelievable power of a positive attitude and a sense of humor.

I wish I could show them the rainbows.