NATURE | LIFE |CREATIVITY

Reminiscing about the concrete wonder of colors

A walk down the memory lane

I hesitate to write about personal stuff as it makes me a little emotional and vulnerable, however, if your eyes are reading this post, the credit goes to Dr. Preeti Singh and the editors of Reciprocal. Her post nudged us to talk about our rainbows and it immediately took me back to the wonderful years I had the pleasure to spend near an iconic spot in Toronto.

“When thunderstorms roll in, you choose to either succumb with tears to the gloomy downpour or smile and look for rainbows.” — Richelle E. Goodrich

Searching for rainbows has been a passion of mine to decipher the encoded messages in the skies to manage my chaotic life. I marvel at how the thunderous rains deluge the earth of its toxicity, leaving us with a flash of colors renewing my faith in the Universe’s generosity.

Whenever the absurdity of earthy matters becomes overwhelming, the colors in the skies made me ignore the darkness around me.

Vibrant colors of the rainbow have always guided my worldview; instead of assigning black and binaries or even grey boundaries, I look for a color that represents our perspective to find a balance.

In my opinion, human beings are complex with even more complicated personalities that make them act in weird and bizarre ways.

Sometimes, it’s hard to designate clear categories of good and bad. Things are more layered than the neatly compiled bundles of one hundred percent black or white. In our haste to conform or force others to do the same, we become confined to our fixated and boxy existence.

Looking at the rainbow makes us marvel at the interconnectedness of the colors-the blending one into another, creating one majestic spectacle for everyone to enjoy.

For thousands of years, if not millions, rainbows have been enabling our disobedient and skeptical mindsets to be inspired by their multifarious variations. At the same time, they confirm our belief that no one can diminish the beauty of the other rather we are created to enhance and accentuate each other’s appearance as well as significance.

It baffles me, why human beings insist upon being different and choose to be confined instead of becoming limitless. Also, we erroneously assume the world revolves around us, so we end up creating a pitiable wall of loneliness and insecurity.

The hide and seek with the rainbow remained a reality for a long time until I came to live in an area where there was a concrete rainbow painted on a picturesque tunnel on the east side of the Don Valley Parkway (Toronto). I always thought this rainbow tunnel was an entry to a magical place where serenity could be found in abundance.

It still brings so much pleasure and positivity as it holds all the memories of my hardship, confusion, and trauma in silent dignity. It never betrayed my secret-how close I was to a mental and physical breakdown. The benevolence of the colors gave me encouragement not to lose hope or stop working to become a better version of myself.

A place where I could spend weekends with my young kids, where we learned how to bike (yep, I was quite an early learner 😂😂), and have lunch picnics and birthday parties, where it felt like home. The awkward questions were non-existent here, and the endearing entertainment was ever-present.

Summers had acres of greenery and various plants, bugs, and wildflowers with the soothing voice of the gentle river nearby. Fall colors changed the valley into thousand shades of orange, yellow, and red, making the short days shine even brighter. Winters brought mountains of snow, paving the way for sledge rides, snowball fights, or spending freezing afternoons laying underneath a snow-covered cave.

So thankful for the rainbow bridge tunnel and the mesmerizing beauty of the Don Valley trail and Don River, where the most difficult years of my family became the most memorable ones, where we forgot about the outside world and its reasons for excluding us or why we never felt welcomed anywhere.

We grew stronger as a family by paying attention to the priceless beauty around us instead of feeling dejected and depressed.

“Count your rainbows, not your thunderstorms.” — Alyssa Knight

© Fatima Imam (All Rights Reserved)

Sincere thanks to Dr. Preeti Singh, Sahil Patel and Yana Bostongirl to provide an encouraging environment for my posts in their publication: ❤️❤️

Suma Narayan’s nature-inspired post:

Suzie Alexander’s piece on nature and the beauty of her:

Forever grateful to everyone for your precious time and generous support. Stay blessed, and motivated, and live your life to the fullest. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🙏🙏🙏🙏

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