Desert Rainbows

The arc of a desert rainbow slices the sky, a spectrum of colour stretching across the blue. Beneath it, the red earth and rugged desert yields harshness dampened by the recent downpour. The rainbow is a sign of hope. This is the reminder it gives us: goodness comes after the storm.

It is a legend that there is a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Out here, in the Central Desert, the rainbow itself is as valuable as gemstones. It speaks of life and renewal. Rain is so rare, so needed, that the appearance of a rainbow is enough to encourage positivity and joy. It tells us that just as it has rained once, so it will rain again. 

Rainbow after a storm just outside Alice Springs, Central Australia (Photo credit: Alicia Pegram)

Rainbows encourage us to lift our eyes. In summer, when it has been too warm, too dry, and the sun too fierce, a rainbow symbolizes a break in the hours of heat. In winter, a rainbow illuminates the pale light shifting between the clouds. On such days, many thoughts of gratitude are sent skyward for the soft weather. The wind may be chilly, but it is the rainbow that draws our focus.

Desert rainbows don’t last forever. They are alive for a moment, a flicker in time. They die away, but they leave us touched by beauty. We once again look around us at the desert and appreciate its forms and features. Some of us chase rainbows. Some of us chase storms. Some of us chase the glow of stars in a dark night. And often - not always - the magic of life lies in catching what we pursue.