Look up

A heavy rainstorm hit L.A. last night and we were really pelted hard. This morning when I went outside with my dogs at 6:30 I was glad to see the sun rising in the east and it looked like the rain was over. It was chilly (48F/9C) and all I wanted was to go back inside, feed the dogs quickly and crawl back in bed. I’d already been up at 2am because one of my dogs was dancing around on the hardwood floor click click click and when I got up to see what she needed I discovered she’d been sick downstairs on the living room rug.  So I was not exactly in a spiritual mode of “oh-greet-the-rising-sun-with-joy-and-bless-the-new-day!”  My mindset was more along the lines of “Thank God it stopped raining, now hurry up, girls, because I’m tired.”

I huddled in my robe as it began to rain. I was looking down to see if the dogs were finishing their business on the lawn and if there was anything to clean up. And then…

I looked up.

And there, in the western sky, cast by the rising sun, was one of the most massive rainbows I have ever seen. I simply stared, trying to take it all in. I could almost see the bottom on the right side of the rainbow, but the left was hidden.  I ran upstairs to my office, grabbed my camera and hurried back outside.

All of a sudden, my desire to rush back to bed was gone. I had a new purpose: take a picture and write my blog. The words were rushing through my head as I saw all of the lessons unfolding from this simple experience of looking up and discovering a grand rainbow.

I took photos in the backyard. The rain came down harder but — let your smile be your umbrella!  — that saying is so true. I didn’t care that I was cold and wet. I was on a mission: Get a good picture.

I even scrambled around in a flower bed at the far corner of the yard, trying to get a wider angle for the photo. I knew if I took the time to go back inside and dig out the old wide angle camera lens and camera body, see if I could find a roll of film, load it, find a new battery… time was ticking away and the rainbow would probably vanish.

Hoping to see more of the left side of the rainbow, I dashed into the front yard and took pictures from the driveway. I noticed a few cars driving down the street and wondered if they noticed the rainbow or if they were like I had been just a few moments earlier, completely absorbed in my mental state and unaware of the incredible gift Nature was offering, free for the enjoying.

Usually when we have rain in L.A. and then the sky clears enough for it to be sunny, I look for rainbows about 4pm in the southern sky, cast by the late afternoon sun.

This early morning full rainbow in the west was something special.

And yet how often do we see the beauty all around us, and we are too busy looking down at our “To Do” lists, or the mess to be cleaned up on the floor, or our inward glance at our never-quiet mind?

The choice is always ours.

I might have missed the rainbow entirely if I had pulled my robe up over my head to avoid the rain and then dashed in the house to get away from the chilly day so I could go back to bed.

But I didn’t.

When you wonder how you can be happy even though circumstances of your life are not “perfect” yet — think of these choices:

• you can keep your focus narrow, and study your “problems” and “worries” nonstop
• you can dismiss the miracles waiting for you every day of your life
• you can notice rainbows but criticize that it’s not a perfect one with both ends visible, so you’ll “wait” for one that’s better and worth your timeOR
• you can keep your sight on the path you want to follow
• you can look up!  — follow your spirit instead of your worried mind
• you can seek all that is positive and good, and simply cope with the “messes” without letting them drag you down into the muck

More tomorrow. There are so many lessons I want to share with you about how to be happy all the time.

your happiness guru,

Evelyn Brooks

PS  Ask your questions about being happy and stress-free at http://askevelynbrooks.com Get the details for my upcoming *free* teleclass 4/21