Rain and Rainbows

The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.  

- Dolly Parton

Being retired has given me the luxury of having time to reflect on my life thus far.  Like everyone, I have had my ups and downs, my times when the sun seemed to shine brightly and times when I felt like I lived under a black cloud.  And probably most of the time when life just ticked along with little bumps here and there.  

I have always tried to find the good in any situation, even if it is a lesson-learned at the end of a difficult period.  My mom used to say that I was a bit of a Pollyanna (which is a name derived from a children’s book by Eleanor H. Porter in which the title character had a very optimistic outlook).  I know that a) this is not always true, and b) it is not always a compliment, as it can be kind of annoying to have someone around who is always cheerful!  

But I do believe that we should try to find meaning in the things that happen to us in life.   For example:  

• I was twice “surplussed” (a government word for “fired”) from my job.  In both cases it was a result of government restructuring and office closings.  Of course it was devastating to me, as both times I was in a job that I loved.  However, because I was forced to look around and find another job, I ended up with better, and even more interesting positions.  Tough lessons for sure, but the second time it happened I was far more resilient because of the lesson learned the first time.  
• A series of events (marriage break-up, serious illness, and being in a job that had some flexibility) allowed me to make a decision to move to Stratford.  We had spent summers here when I was a kid as my dad played in the summer festival, and I had fond memories from those years.  There were some tough years and times that led me to the place where I made this decision, but maybe without those events I would not have made a move to a town that I love! 

Of course, those are big events and in reality life is made up of many more small ups and downs.  Maybe the movie you want to see is all sold out, so you go see something else and end up loving it.  Your dinner plans fall through, and you end up having a relaxing evening at home.  The course you want to take is full, and you discover a new interest in the alternate course.  Every day, week, and year is full of these disappointments, and little wins.  

All of which brings me to the photo in this post.  I made this cushion the other day, and the design kind of just happened.  I think it reflects my thoughts on this idea of life being a series of good and bad events.  Without the good (the sunshine) and the bad (the dark rain), we would not see the brilliant rainbows.