An Iceland Rainbow

In Icelandic and Old Norse mythology, Bifröst is a burning rainbow bridge that connects heaven and earth. It reaches between Midgard (the world) and Asgard (heaven). You can read about this in the Prose Edda and Ynglinga Saga, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson.

Rainbows are familiar sights in Iceland and many poems and stories have been written about them. Many exceptional rainbow photos have been taken over the years.

I have a special rainbow photo that I took along the northern coast of Iceland on my drive between Hofsós and Akureyri. It was a rainy day but with the rain, there were many rainbows. As I was driving in the intermittent rain, one rainbow just seemed to call to me, “Take my picture.” Even though I was on a narrow mountain-side road, I listened to that inner voice and snapped a few pictures of this rainbow with my cell phone camera. It is not a good photograph and it was not a spectacular rainbow. I have learned to listen to my obscure feelings – especially when in Iceland.

After returning to America two weeks later, I was going through my Iceland photos. I was feeling a little bit sad and missing my friends and the whole Iceland experience. I added text to one of the rainbow photos and posted it on Facebook.

A cousin, Gigja, posted under the photo, “Our farm is just under the rainbow.” What a surprise! How amazing that I took a photo of this particular rainbow when there were hundreds of others along the way and most of them were much more spectacular. I had never met Gigja or Kristján Helgi in person when I took this photo and I did not know where they lived.

I have learned to listen to this mysterious intuition and it has helped me many times over my life. These God-given inspirations seem a lot stronger when in northern Iceland. I am not as distracted by life and tasks and work to be done while I am there. Maybe that unconscious mind is stifled when we are focused on the stresses and various tasks in our lives and we are too busy.

The rainbow is a symbol for many things. It is good to remember that we cannot prevent storms in our life, whether they are the rainstorms of nature or they are the storms in our lives. Like I posted on the rainbow photo, “Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.”

I love rainbows and they always make me smile. Now, they also remind me to relax, listen to my intuition, and take time to enjoy this amazing world where we live.