The Lockdown Rainbow Edition
The Lockdown Rainbow Edition
This week’s blog comes to you on day 3 of Melbourne’s 6th lockdown. SIXTH. That’s bonkers! I was listening to a podcast today where the guys talking were joking about what the future generations would want to know about the “COVID years”. It was recorded last year following the end of Melbourne’s second (and painfully long) lockdown and there was a sense of hope and of being over the worst of the experience. Little did they know that almost a year later we would be in a strikingly similar situation. For people in NSW right now, I can imagine the world feels similarly heavy and uncertain.
I was going to write about a whole bunch of other random thoughts about lockdown but honestly, I’m done with thinking and writing about lockdown. So instead, I’m going to focus on rainbows. Yes, seriously. RAINBOWS.
Rainbows are a pretty spectacular display put on by nature and physics rocking our world. Some people use rainbows to remind them that good things come after bad, or as a gift from someone that they have loved and lost. Some people see a rainbow in the sky and they see the science – the whole refraction of light thing:
rainbow
ˈreɪnbəʊ/
noun
noun: rainbow; plural noun: rainbows
an arch of colours visible in the sky, caused by the refraction and dispersion of the sun’s light by rain or other water droplets in the atmosphere. The colours of the rainbow are generally said to be red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
What does a rainbow mean to you?
I don’t want this blog to come across as a ‘Pollyanna’, peppy, superficial piece – that’s not how it’s intended at all. I fully recognise (and feel personally) the weight of life right now but sometimes in the middle of our darkest, hardest days is precisely the right time to dream a little about what we want when all this is over. (Because it WILL be over one day).
With that in mind, back to rainbows. Rainbows may be one of nature’s gifts to us, but they are also an awesome reminder of the beauty that can come out of chaos. I’ve used a little mnemonic to illustrate my thoughts:
R – REJOICE in you. Trust in your own abilities and let your rainbow be authentically yours)
A – ACCEPT amazing and nothing less. What would you attempt to do if you knew you couldn’t fail?
I – IMAGINATION is your inspiration. Focus on the vast opportunities, and don’t allow yourself to be limited in your thinking…dream BIG!
N – NUTURE your needs and never give in. It is absolutely ok to put your desires and aspirations out there and prioritise them – you don’t always have to come second to your children, partner, family, work. Know that you will need to keep on getting up…if your rainbow is big enough, then in order to make it happen falling down is inevitable but getting up has to follow. Your rainbow might not come quickly or easily, and you might need a plan “b” or even “c” but, as I was reminded once by my own therapist – nothing in life truly worth anything comes without hard work and perseverance.
B – BE BRAVE and ‘banish beige banter’. Get rid of negative thoughts and remember that your chatter matters (internal self-talk).
O – (be) OPEN to opportunities. Sometimes you just have to put your dreams out there – give them a voice and show them to the universe and see what comes back.
W – WHAT are you waiting for?
If you need someone to talk to about creating your dreams, we have a team of therapists at Thea Baker Wellbeing available – please reach out to us at: hello@theabaker.com.au / 03 9077 8194.