My Double Rainbow Moments

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Abstract

This road trip is part of my midlife process year (you can read more about that <a href="https://link.medium.com/p4klKrQqknb">here</a> and <a href="https://link.medium.com/OLm85eTqknb">here</a>).I left Ohio just as the real winter weather kicked in. My plan was to camp the first couple of nights. By camp, I mean sleep in my 2004 Toyota Highlander. I had a nest built in the back.That first day I made it to western Tennessee where it got so cold overnight it drained my phone battery. The next day I drove through Mississippi. Seeing snow on the ground in Mississippi didn't fit with the idea of gators and bayous I had in my head.As the days and miles rolled on, I met some family for the first time and saw some friends I'd met earlier in my process year, in Costa Rica and Peru. Interestingly, they all lived in Texas.St

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arting the second day of the trip, I started having "double rainbow moments" at least once a day. I would be overcome with an intense, visceral sense of gratitude. While I don't think I was as loud as the guy in the video, I did usually have tears streaming down my face.As I write this, I'm only halfway through the trip. I'm at the San Diego airport waiting for my beautiful wife to arrive so we can spend some much-needed time together.The gratitude I feel is ineffable. The learning I've experienced feels like an ongoing apprenticeship. My spiritual practices are maturing. Moments of connection to the earth so intense I felt like stone, while others were so surreal I questioned whether I was still on this planet.So many different perspectives. So many blessings. If your heart calls for adventure, please listen.</article></body>

Notes from my road trip across the US.

Photo by the author — Near the hot springs in Big Bend NP, Texas

I have been having "double rainbow moments" every day, as I make my way south and west, driving from Ohio to the west coast of the US.

For those of you who don't know, this is what I mean by a "double rainbow moment". You probably won't need to watch the whole video to get the idea.

Over a decade ago this video made the rounds, everyone making fun of the guy's reaction, me included. I still find it funny, but I also better understand his emotional reaction.

This road trip is part of my midlife process year (you can read more about that here and here).

I left Ohio just as the real winter weather kicked in. My plan was to camp the first couple of nights. By camp, I mean sleep in my 2004 Toyota Highlander. I had a nest built in the back.

That first day I made it to western Tennessee where it got so cold overnight it drained my phone battery. The next day I drove through Mississippi. Seeing snow on the ground in Mississippi didn't fit with the idea of gators and bayous I had in my head.

As the days and miles rolled on, I met some family for the first time and saw some friends I'd met earlier in my process year, in Costa Rica and Peru. Interestingly, they all lived in Texas.

Starting the second day of the trip, I started having "double rainbow moments" at least once a day. I would be overcome with an intense, visceral sense of gratitude. While I don't think I was as loud as the guy in the video, I did usually have tears streaming down my face.

As I write this, I'm only halfway through the trip. I'm at the San Diego airport waiting for my beautiful wife to arrive so we can spend some much-needed time together.

The gratitude I feel is ineffable. The learning I've experienced feels like an ongoing apprenticeship. My spiritual practices are maturing. Moments of connection to the earth so intense I felt like stone, while others were so surreal I questioned whether I was still on this planet.

So many different perspectives. So many blessings. If your heart calls for adventure, please listen.