Margaret Cheasebro

We recently had quite a bit of rain where I live in Farmington, New Mexico. In our area, which receives eight inches or less of rain each year, half an inch on one day is quite a lot. As a result, we have been seeing more rainbows than usual. They are quite beautiful.

One of my neighbors saw me pulling weeds in my yard and walked over to tell me about a rainbow in our neighborhood. I looked up, and there it was arched over his house. His wife stood near their driveway, a smile on her face as she looked at the rainbow. Only minutes after they pointed it out to me, it faded away. I felt fortunate to have seen it, something I would have missed if they hadn't told me about it. My eyes were focused on the ground to spot weeds, so what was going on in the sky had not been in my field of vision.

Another day, there was a brilliant rainbow in a different part of town. I was able to capture it with my camera as it seemed to shoot out of a group of trees on a tree-lined street.

Several years ago, a friend of mine, Marion Blaney, now deceased, wrote a self-published book called Across the Rainbow Bridge: A Travel Guide for Our Spiritual Journey. On the title page, she hand wrote the message, "May you always walk among rainbows!"

There is something so beautiful and colorful about rainbows that when I see them, they lift my spirits. I often see them near trees. Occasionally I spot a double rainbow, which is doubly beautiful. One of the rainbows is usually a little fainter in color than the other, but together they form twin arcs that make me stop everything I'm doing to take in their beauty.

In that state of focusing on the rainbow's beauty, I forget everything else. I am so absorbed in enjoying the rainbow that nothing else enters my mind. Letting go, even for a few seconds, of all the worries, concerns and frustrations helps to bring peace of mind.

May you find rainbows in your life just when you need them.

As we faced on January 6 perhaps the most dangerous challenge to our country we had ever experienced, when domestic terrorists tried to stop the United States Congress from certifying the Electoral College votes that confirmed the victory of President-Elect Joe Biden, we found ourselves in different locations, different frames of mind, and different levels of emotion.

How do we get past that? How do we become a united country again? How do we continue to function with some peace of mind?

The people lawfully appointed to handle justice will determine what happens to those domestic terrorists, but how do we carry on? How do we find the peace of mind to perform our daily tasks?

Those of us who have developed some proficiency with prayer and/or meditation can turn to that. But not all of us are very adept at prayer or meditation.

In those times of agitation, fear, anger, or confusion, it can be helpful to find a place nearby where there are quite a few trees. Take a walk among those trees. As you walk, try to calm yourself by noticing details about the trees – the texture of their bark, the shape of their leaves, how tall they grow, how wide they spread their branches.

When you notice such things, you are starting to take your mind off of other things. One of the first steps to practicing prayer or meditation is to take your focus off of those other things and place them on getting into a state of quiet contemplation.

That first step can be so hard it may seem impossible. But persevere. See the trees as allies in your efforts to gain a sense of calm. As you keep at it, you may notice that your breathing slows and your mind quits churning quite so much.

Give yourself enough time as you walk among the trees to sense that you are calming down. You are beginning to find a sense of peace.

Though walking among trees is not the only way to find a calmer, more peaceful frame of mind, it can be quite effective. Whatever works best for you, see if you can practice it a little bit every day. When you do, you will find that peace and calmness stay with you longer, even when you find yourself in difficult circumstances.

May you find the way that works best for you and keep practicing it. The more people who do that, the more our efforts will help to expand calm and peace all around the world. Then, when we face dangerous challenges, negative emotions and attitudes will have less of an impact.