Since I care about Rainbows and Rhythm and could not decide which to post, I’m posting BOTH of them. You can tell me what you relate best to… 
“Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high,
There’s a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby.” E.Y. “Yip” Harburg
“My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky.” William Wordsworth
When I lived in Silverdale, frequently rain squals dashed across Dyes Inlet. They managed to appear right in front of our house as if it was a sign from the Gods! This is the view from our back deck. I always believed that the “Pot of Gold” was hiding down in the bushes on my neighbor’s property. I was soooo tempted to run down and snope around their yard. I just knew I would find a Leprechan hiding their treasure. Did you know that the Vikings are said to have hidden their plunder around Ireland? The rainbow signifies the hiding place.
Since Poulsbo, a Viking town, neighbors Silverdale I am convinced that a few sneaky Vikings have forgotten their long lost pots of gold on our hillsides. I’ll have to go purchase a metal detector. But one treasure that I always see with the rainbow is a smile.
My heart instantly is aglow when a rainbow pops up in front of me. The radiant colors bring joy to my heart and the world seems to be a better place.
The days the rainbow hides from my view the bay is often obscured by fluffy white clouds. Watching the cloudy wonderland I envision Pete’s Dragon rising from the mist. Since the hillside housed the Pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow, heaven’s knows what other creatures existed near that pot to sneak out from time to time. Now, I did see a unicorn disguised as a deer down in the cul-de-sac one day. It popped out to inspect its’ lands, looked around, and then disappeared back into the foliage as if magic. I think it was magic! But rainbows are magic.
R – Rhythm
“To live is to be musical, starting with the blood dancing in your veins. Everything living has a rhythm. Do you feel your music?” Michael Jackson
“Our biological rhythms are the symphony of the cosmos, music embedded deep within us to which we dance, even when we can’t name the tune.” Deepak Chopra
Picture provided by D. Sharon Pruitt
Rhythm surrounds us. There is the rhythm of our hearts, the clocks, the rain or hail against our houses, and the beat of instruments. Watch the branches dancing to the rhythm of the wind. Listen to the rhythm of the crashing waves on our sandy beaches.
Are you aware of the rhythm of the day? You arise full of energy ready to run off and face the world. Or you had a bad night’s sleep and the rhythm of your body is tired and slow. Rhythm is essential to keep us going and working.
Think back to the Vikings rowing from shore to ancient shore. The rhythm of the oars hitting the water was critical. A drummer sat in the tail of their vessel pounding a drum creating a beat meant to keep the rowers on a steady motion. If a paddler’s rhythm was off he would impact the rhythm of the other crew members. Then if the ship hit a huge wave the wave could direct them in another direction. Rhythm was crucial to reaching their destination and goals.
Even today’s sculling races have a person in the stern calling out strokes. Rhythm in everyday life is essential.
It is said that if we are “off our rhythm” that our day or activities are not going well. Especially, if you watch dancers, it is critical they move to the rhythm of the music so they don’t crash into one another. Years ago I took ballroom dancing lessons. I LOVE music and dance… any kind of dance. My instructor was teaching me the East Coast Swing and we were quickly moving to the rhythm of the music. I was headed backwards when the heel on my shoe caught the t-strap on my other shoe. You might say I ‘lost my rhythm’ as I didn’t have a leg to stand on so I went flying backwards, crash-landing onto the hardwood floor. This is an abrupt way to put an end to one’s rhythm for the day.
Life, flowers, plants, trees, everything follows a rhythm… of the seasons, of germination, of life. Everyone experiences the beat to their own drummer. It is critical that we follow the rhythm that works for each of us so we don’t crash land into the floor as I did. One important note: If you do have a harsh meeting with the floor, make sure you turn and pick yourself up so you can move on. Don’t lose your rhythm.
Hello Your Majesty! I loved both posts, it’s hard to choose so I won’t. Both speak to my heart. I love the idea of the Vikings and their oars having to be essentially rhythmic and the drummer at the tail.
Sometimes I don’t pay attention to my own rhythm and your post is a reminder to be more in tune with the beat of my own drum, thank you.
I love rainbows and am reminded of God’s covenant with Noah – the rainbow he sent and the dove of peace …
Yes Susan listening to our own rhythm is critical as it keeps us healthy and happy both mentally and physically. Once many, many years ago I crewed on a Hawaiian outrigger team. This is where I learned the importance of rhythm and working together. If the rhythm was off we could end up positioned the wrong way with the waves and the get flipped over… as with life. If our rhythm is off our life can become out of whack.
Then I love the color and the spirituality of the rainbow. Of course I do look for the unicorn or leprechaun to appear with the rainbow. 😉 The rainbow is God’s way of smiling down on us… it should represent all peoples from all over the world.
Thank you for your beautiful comments. I do appreciate you enormously.
I love rainbows too. Whenever I see one, I try to pull over and observe it when I am driving. When at home, I stare at it until it disappears.
As for your rhythm post, I too find it is so important to find your own rhythm and to live it. Sadly, too many people are trying to live as someone told them they should live and have not heard the beat of their own drums.
Excellent post, Gwynn.
Shalom
Thanks Pat for commenting. Rainbows signify so many beautiful things about our life… if only we, the people, would listen and learn.
And yes, learning to find our own rhythm is critical too. I would think as a musician having rhythm in your life would be critical to you. I love the rhythm of the rain and listening to the wind howl. Nature provides fun rhythms to enjoy also.
Thanks for being a friend.
Rhythm and Rainbows, two of the best reasons for the letter R! I love the Viking lore you included in both parts of your post–I had no idea that the pots of gold at the end of the rainbow are purported to be Viking treasure.
Love the anecdote about your dancing mishap. Definitely a way to throw off your rhythm for the day. Hope there were no injuries other than bruised dignity. 🙂
It’s so true that we need to find our own rhythm in life–another’s drummer is just going to make us trip over our own feet.
Hey, my chasing rainbows is a lot like my trying to win the lottery! Being a Viking community, surely one of those characters forgot where he buried his gold! Ok, this isn’t Ireland… but I’m hoping.
The day I went flying across the dance floor definitely bruised my dignity… I think I kept my dancing instructor laughing for the rest of the day. I managed to walk out of there alive anyway! 😉
Hey, I just was cruising around your blog. I LOVED your reading video! I enjoyed laughing with you at your review of “R” words… FUN. I couldn’t find a place to comment though.
Wow, great posts, both of them! I too love rainbows. They absolutely mesmerize me and they don’t last near long enough. But rhythm: oh so magnificent, especially rhythm with a beat! Really enjoyed your post.
Michele at Angels Bark
Thanks Michele for stopping in to comment. I SOOOOO LOVE music and dancing. Sitting still is NOT an option when there is rhythm around. Plus, rainbows are so dear and dramatic. To me they represent the colors of the world. Life if stunning!
Now, I’m trying to read your blog but I’m having difficulties getting in. I LOVE your header as I’m definitely a dog lover!
If you like music and dancing, you might really like my A-Z posts. I’m doing a musical tour of my life. My page should be loading, though it might take a few extra seconds because I have posted a fair amount of music videos. Here’s the direct link to today’s post: this might be faster than loading from the home page. Sorry that it’s giving you problems! That is not good!
https://angelsbark.wordpress.com/2015/04/21/r-is-for-rolling-stones-reo-speedwagon-rush-ratt-robert-palmer-rainbow-rod-stewart-robin-trower-rare-earth-ringo-starr-the-romantics-and-red-rider/
I have signed up to follow you but I STILL can get into your post due to the long script. I LOOOOVE music so I’ll keep trying! Thanks
And then there is the timing of tripping over one’s own two feet, losing the rhythm and falling through space into the pot of gold hidden in the bushes at the end of the rainbow, there to find the unicorn in all its mystical glory.
Magical images.
Thanks, Gwynn.
Now… IF ONLY I had fallen into a hard pot of gold instead of falling from the stars onto a hardwood floor. Maybe this is part of the reason for my back problem? Heck, the leprechaun didn’t even soften my landing… Oh that’s right he saw me coming and moved! RATS!!!! 😉
Aren’t the rainbows incredible in this area? I see so many now, and I never tire of them.
I also love the rhythms I feel as I live here. When we lived in Houston, we didn’t have a true change of seasons like we have in the PNW. I also practice Ayurvedic principles, so I have a morning routine to start my day (yoga, breathing, meditation), and I try to be aware of the shifts throughout the day. When I do this I feel so much stronger and more alive.
Welcome Home Nadine. I’m down hidden amongst the trees on Miller Bay now. My view of the water is serene, but in the four years that I have lived here, rather than Silverdale, I have only seen one rainbow. It was magnificent though!
I can’t do the yoga because of my back but I definitely have breathing exercises to do. In my case, the exercises help put me to sleep. My walking is what invigorates me.
I love rainbows, too. Amazing — those colors in the sky, and the myth, of course … the pot of gold. And rhythm is so important, I think, in everything we do, not just in music as my husband would like to say. 😉 Things are definitely not going well when off of our rhythm, locally or globally. A world out of rhythm is a mess, for one. Thanks, Gwynn. So enjoying reading you.
Thank you for your KIND comments Silvia.
Frankly, I do so wonder about the world and its’ sense of rhythm right now. It feels off to me.
Then I’m chuckling… oh heck, you mean the pot of gold at the end of my rainbows is a myth?? Darn!! 😉 I keep trying to win the Lottery too!! 😉
Great posts. So many nice things start with R. Even the song about favorite things starts out raindrops on roses…and of course without the raindrops, no rainbow.
So while you are off cruising do you run into many or any rainbows? Plus, does the cruise ship play music for you to dance to? Even cruising around requires us to keep up with our own rhythms. Have fun… wherever in the world you are now! Thanks for stopping by to comment!