Imagine how the earth looked just prior Noah’s Great Flood.
Darkened by heavy clouds, the gathering storm threatened to engulf and overwhelm its victims.
These phrases can describe severe weather, but they’re also metaphoric terms to describe difficult periods of our human journey.
Sometimes life's gloom feels overwhelming. Whether one feels gripped by concerns about ISIS and Ebola on the world stage, or paralyzed by the anxiety of personal struggles at home or office, life's sky isn't always bright and sunny. At one time or another, storm clouds gather on everyone’s individual horizon. And when your skies are dark, it's difficult to find optimism for tomorrow.
So look for the rainbow.
The birth of every rainbow begins with millions of tiny rain droplets, each of which can serve as a reflector and refractor of light. The same myriad of droplets that threaten to engulf your world can form a glorious rainbow to brighten that world.
Why is one collection of water globules an ominous gray mass and the other a glorious expression of life's color?
It's all a matter of whether the light shines through, and whether we catch our perspective from the right angle.
The Torah’s Great Flood saw the world being destroyed through human soul-darkness triggering dark clouds relentlessly dropping their heavy loads. Noah escaped those physical and spiritual storm clouds by taking refuge in the Ark.
When it was all over, and he walked out on dry land, G-d showed him the majesty of the rainbow to teach him why such global destruction would never again hit the earth. The rainbow showed humanity they can do better, even amidst overwhelming darkness.
In life, we can always access Divine light by choosing meaningful responses to our stresses. We can always position ourselves for a proper perspective, if we can only find the strength.
We can find our own rainbows.
When darkness hits, remember that you’re not alone; G-d is with you. Remember that each struggle – moral, emotional or physical – may feel like a flood, but is ultimately a single droplet in the cloud of your life.
Trust in G-d, open yourself to the light, and let it shine on our droplet.
Look up at those clouds and find the rainbow.
Rabbi Mendy Herson