Rainbows

I was sitting on the bleachers, waiting on my son’s ballgame to start, when I overheard a mother and daughter talking about the daughter’s science project. The daughter apparently was studying rainbows. She and her mother couldn’t agree on how many colors there were and in what order, for her project.

Of course, the next words I hear at “Siri, how many colors are there in the rainbow?” The answer fascinated me and so led to my further contemplation on the subject. (yes, I plan on leaving you hanging for a minute, so just sit tight).

A little bit of history: Around 1642, it was believed that colors were produced from light itself. Then came along Sir Isaac Newton who discovered that colors were actually comprised of the fracturing of white light through a prism. To test this theory, he shown light through a prism, onto a wall and had his friend mark lines between each color for him to later identify. This was the first proof that light didn’t make color but the FRACTURING of light did.

By now, you’ve had time to probably stop and Google the answer. How many colors are in the rainbow? If you guessed 7, you’d be wrong. Sir Isaac Newton identified SEVEN, yes. Those colors are Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. But that is just what he could SEE. The rainbow itself is made up of colors that aren’t even visible to the human eye, ranging from Ultra-violet to infrared.

So, to recap, rainbows are made of white light or the light of the sun, fractured through prisms, glass, water, raindrops, etc. There are thousands of shades of colors but our eyes can only see a tiny fraction of what is actually there.

Recently, I could really relate to this idea. You know the phrase “Don’t judge a book by its cover?” I feel like I’ve lived that a good majority of my life. People think they know who I am because they see me as “The Preacher’s kid”, “Tim’s wife”, “Owen & Noah’s mother”. I don’t mind theses titles, those colors are present to be seen, but there are so many others that aren’t. I try to live my life in a constant state of expansion. If you’re not growing, thriving, learning, then you are living a stagnant life. Content to stay where you are, stuck in your ways, never knowing anything more then what you know at this exact moment. What fun is that?

With this in mind, I see my life as a spectrum in itself. Depending on what device is used, some times I’m bold and some times I’m weaker and sometimes I feel barely visible. But I am also always evolving from one shade to another in an attempt to be the best self I’ve been created to be.

And while the titles that are true, the colors that are present, don’t bother me, it’s the ones that aren’t that do. To be more clear, what is the color black? What is darkness? Black is actually not a color at all. It is the ABSENCE of color. Just as there is no such thing as darkness. Darkness is just the absence of light. And what bothers me the most, is when people judge me or think they know me by what colors they THINK they see. I once was called “Tender hearted” as if that was a weakness, a black in my rainbow. But each persons eyes interpret things differently. The person who said this saw that trait as a weaker color, where as I see it as a bolder one and not black all. Very much like the internet phenomenon of “What color is this dress”

Btw, I see blue and gold.

So what does this all come down too? It’s not about rainbows or book covers or dresses. My point is that we can’t always see the full spectrum. So, next time you act like you know the full story or how a person really is, maybe you should adjust your light.

Because I’ve got colors you’ve never seen.