Double Rainbows

Yesterday, in the late afternoon, I needed to run over to Alderwood Mall. It's an easy fifteen-minute drive from my house but let's face it - I am not a fan of errands to the mall during rush hour, and I was dreading the trip. 

The day had been a stormy one but as I began my journey, the raindrops let up, the heavy clouds were lifting, and the sun came out to shine. Brilliant blue appeared behind harmless, high, white clouds and all the world seemed glistening and new in the late afternoon light.

The familiar landscape was made new by the beautiful skies and I felt my spirits lift.

I couldn't resist the urge to snap a few pics as I drove along. I know. It's a problem. 

^  As I pulled into the parking lot at the mall, this was the scene that met my eyes.

The western skies above Alderwood always seem to be particularly brilliant and beautiful, and this scene was definitely exceptional.. Billowing layers of clouds were tossing and turning in the breezes, sunlight illuminating them in varying shades of brilliant white and gold, and a few last rain showers were playing themselves out. The overall effect was dynamic, dramatic and intense, and my previously grumpy mood went from good to great.

And then I made two quick left turns into a parking space, and suddenly found myself facing east.

^ A pair of double rainbows, stretching from horizon to horizon, filled the skies. Black clouds from the previous storms were rumbling in the distance, providing a brooding background for the brilliant colors. Breathlessly, I watched for three or four minutes as the rainbows intensified and faded and intensified again, dependent on the mysterious balance between light and water for their miraculous existence.

And I thought of how our lives are sometimes like that - a mysterious balance between the mundane drudgery of our daily lives, which sometimes requires dumb trips to the mall, and the sublime beauty of the heavens.

My mood was transformed. I saw my afternoon's mission as a cosmic reminder rather than a nuisance, and I put life's little annoyances into their proper perspective. It felt really good.

But I still don't like to run errands.