The rainbow hides nothingness?
A rainbow is not what it seems, as with most things it depends on your frame of reference, it is something and it is nothing, we observe an object that is not there, it has no physical form but it creates wonder in those who see it. It is in fact a circle rather than a bow, and it is cut off by the landscape from our viewing angle, you have to be much higher relative to the ground to see it in it's full circular beauty, which does make a fool of someone searching for the pot of good at the end of it. Though really the metaphor is not about going around in circles, it is a warning to those who fail to see the miracle that is in front of them and the folly of seeking more when you have paradise in your hands already.
When miracles happen straight in front of you it is up to you to appreciate them as they are happening, and little miracles occur all the time, the taste of coffee is a wonder that never fail to impress, and the first of the day is like starting again, which is another miracle to be amazed at. The fact that our memory are somewhere between perfect and useless is wonderful, if we could remember how good coffee tastes with perfect recollection that would make re-experiencing again worthless when you could just close you eyes. We are so use to our memories and that there is pleasure in doing something again that we do not even pause to notice that this is happening, we need to forget a little to be able to enjoy a first cup of coffee in it's full glory, miracles are everywhere when you start looking for them.
Lacking a sense of wonder is a sign of something being wrong, you have to be seriously drained of energy and life not to bother getting off the sofa to see a rainbow, not to take every chance of witnessing something unique and momentary, and yet so many of us do, we get distracted by the small stuff, the things that we have to do for love or money, often both. The miracle of sleep can be reduced to an inconvenient time-suck, yet it is a miracle that takes time, about eight hours, but to awaken fully repaired and restored is a miracle, restoration is one of the most beautiful feelings you can have and the best way to get your sense of wonder back. To be at your best self, the best rested version of you is way better than you trying your best when exhausted, you have the resources to do more in less time, to be more productive, efficient and effective. It is ironic that modern business tries to fill up more of their employees time, instead of pursuing short burst of peak performance, as any athlete will tell you that they take their rest as seriously as their practice, one needs the other.
Which returns us to the rainbow, enjoying one requires two things the time to do so and the knowledge that a sense of wonder adds value to our lives, and I have yet to find a person who does not love a perfectly timed rainbow. To see that beauty is to look with the self-knowledge of what brings joy to your soul, your inner-self, that part of you that does not think instead just feels and knows, it is being in a healthy relationship with your inner witness, you can not just be on the surface of things, reacting to external stimulus if you want control over your happiness. If just do the things that you are suppose to do, let things just happen to you and all you do is react, that is being on the surface, there is a greater game to play, the one where you set the rules, you decide what it is that you actually want and pursue it.
It could be that you decide that you want a house instead of buying expensive cars because you have decided that you want to invest in your long term interest of having no rent payments instead of having a car that you think impresses other people and by association they will be impressed by you. It is certainly a higher level decision to buy a house, it shows long term planning, the ability to deter pleasure for future benefit, these are desirable quality and showing them by your action is good and impressive (far more than owning a car) however if it is not what you want it is still foolish. That is why you have to get to know yourself, the only person it matters about impressing is yourself, the only happiness that matters is yours, and a sense of wonder is crucial as well as awareness of how you feel, not is not measured or noticed, can not be changed.
Which leads us to the inner game, the game that matters, the only one you have to win, that is worth wining, and fair warning the rules change the more you play. There are many ways into the inner-game, and many of us need time and distance from our childhoods before we can start playing, you have to get to know yourself, but you need the reason and motivation to first, whether that is through sport where you want to improve your performance, financial wealth where your bank balance is an objective measure, health and happiness where you are aware of how a you are feeling and want to feel better. Whatever your starting point once you start learning about any skill or ability you quickly find out that there are two element to improvement, practice and the inner game, and any improvement is limited by both. There is no point practicing without having a better inner game and the same in reverse, we need to grow in both dimensions, it is like giving your plants the options of either having water or sunlight, they need both or they will not grow. The good news is that you only have to learn the inner-game for one thing and then that it transferable to any new skill or change of behavior, just like you learn to read and then apply it repeated for many purposes.
Mastery of the inner-game is a meta-skill which is vital for our need for growth, which is vital for everyone in everything they do, it is this universality that gives me hope that everyone ends up at the place where we address our inner game. It seems to be the only consistent need beyond the basics (shelter, water, food) once we have them we do not stop and say that is enough, we want more and that desires comes from our universal need for growth, to develop through time. We want better relationship, more skillful and elegant action in our lives, we want the excitement of doing new things and getting better at them. Whether our inner-game actually amounts to anything is really besides the point, if there is a greater game being played in the universe, it does not matter as you can not play a game you know nothing about, if you are seeking achievement, that is a fine narrative to have about your life and the reasons for your everyday, having that sense of alignment feels good and is worth having. However the achievement that always matters is whether you are happy now which is not an excuse for hedonism rather a reason to take good action in the moment, being healthy and happy feels good in the moment, salad tastes good when you have a good inner game.
Which is the point, we want to move to where we can win, and it is the inner game, the one point of view which can appreciate our actions on many level at the same time where we link our future with present actions and learn from our past mistakes and success. When you know that a salad settles and relaxes you, whilst fish and chips gives you indigestion, despite the pleasure of the moment, you get to make better choices that work for you.
Rainbow are on one level a pretty thing of no consequence, but they are also a test of whether your internal sense of wonder is in good health, it allows to find out how many level of consciousness and awareness you are using, do you just see colours, do you see all of them, or do you see the physics behind it, the metaphor of nothingness co-existing with the real world, the temporary nature of the universe, how certain conditions create unexpected thing. Though the greatest challenge is to just see the rainbow exactly as it is, a sign of wonder in an uncertain world and the signpost to what really matters how you see the world and your experience of it, and the choice is up to you, whether you see the ugliness, fear and suffering, or the beauty, love, joy and hope, a rainbow is a wide spectrum, you get to choose who you are.
