Rainbows in the sky

Color from many sources
Port Stanley, ON
July 2014
Thematic. Temporary. Here.

While we were hanging out on the beach a couple of weeks ago, our very observant daughter saw two rainbow-like phenomena in the sky. At the back of my mind, I know there are valid scientific reasons for rainbow-like rings to appear around the midday sun, and for similarly colorful reflections to appear in high clouds. At that moment, however, I just couldn't explain it in detail. And as we stared up and wondered about the odds of simultaneously seeing two separate and distinct rainbows, I made a mental note to look it up when I had a moment.

On the one hand, I could have pulled my smartphone out of the bottom of our beach bag and surfed on over to Wikipedia right then and there. Like so many life moments, it would have been yet another example of technology helping us better understand the what and the why of it all. It answers questions Right Now, and in doing so gives us the tools to, if we play our cards right, lead better lives.

On the other hand, this was one of those times when simply taking in the sight with her was more than enough. On the beach, on that afternoon, at that moment, stopping what we were doing and fishing the smartphone out from under a pile of towels and swim goggles just didn't seem appropriate. There's a time to reach for the smartphone and a time to leave it well enough alone.

I smirked as I suggested I look it up on my device. She smirked right back and shook her head, an emphatic no from a girl who, like her mom, always seems to have the right answer.

I'll look it up eventually. For now, though, I'm rather enjoying the realization that not every moment needs technology layered on top of it. Sometimes it makes eminent sense to leave it all behind.

Your turn: When do you like to turn everything off and just...be?