“Somewhere over the Rainbow,
way up high
There’s a land that I heard of,
once in a lullaby.
…Birds fly over the Rainbow,
why then, oh why can’t I?”

-lyrics: “Over the Rainbow”, from “Wizard of Oz”

 

What do you do when a rainbow graces its presence upon you? Well, my first instinct was to  take a panoramic photo.

rainbow in vienna1

It was  amazing to spot this rainbow while strolling one rainy afternoon in Vienna. The last rainbow photo I took was when I was with my daughter in Tasmania. I believe rainbows mean blessings. “A Rainbow is one of the most beautiful artistic creations that Nature herself can paint for us. When we are given the opportunity to view a Rainbow we become mesmerized and enchanted by the breathtaking Beauty which appears in the untouchable distance; a Beauty which comes to us directly from the paintbrush of Divinity.”

rainbow in vienna12

Hmm, but what’s the deeper message and meaning of rainbows in my life? Let me count the ways .

rainbow in vienna

Is it time to take a fresh look at the opportunities available to my family ? For sure, we spent time together in this first family vacation since 2002.

selfie in vienna

There will always be windows of opportunities.

apartment in vienna

It is preparing to move into a new light, seek adventure, and see things with a new perspective.

our vienna apartment

vienna architecture

My husband and I have crossed over  from one phase of life to an empty nest.

belvedere palace1

Belvedere palace

What kind of promises have we made in this family vacation and have we honored those promises?

belvedere museum 4

My husband and I agreed to be patient with each other and not to lose our cool . “Let’s just enjoy as this is a rare occasion to be together”, I reminded my husband.   We are now halfway in our vacation and I think we are doing quite well. No bad tempers so far.

belvedere palace grounds 1

The  rainbow is recognized as a symbol of unity in diversity of action. Family members may have different tastes in sight seeing tours but we all agree that the museum is one of the best places to visit.

belvedere palace grounds

We definitely appreciate the architecture.

belvedere palace 2

mcdonalds in vienna

And having coffee .

cafe landtmann 2

vienna couple

photo bomb at the cafe landtmann

coffee in vienna

landtmann

cafe landtmann

Walking till our feet get tired.

landtmann

vienna film festival

and enjoying the food.

naschmarkt

eco bag from market

window shopping at the market

goulash

schnitzell

schnitzel

while helping each other navigate so we don’t get lost in Vienna.

navigators

taking a train in vienna

Rainbows bring the promise that the troubles of today will surely come to pass, hold strong in your faith and vision and the rainbow will bring fresh beginnings, and new prosperity. ” Soon, we will be back in the Philippines and face reality of our jobs, the corrupt government and an inefficient transport system .

flowers in vienna

vienna architecture

The symbol of the rainbow “has such a powerful meaning to each of us and graciously bestows the energy of blessings.” It “intuitively tells us to hold onto hope, to believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that sacred blessings  are open to us when we are following our hearts desire.”vienna in rainbow

 

Beholding a rainbow is a gift, and when we are faced with their beauty, it is the perfect time to be full of gratitude for all the blessings in our lives.

 

 

About Noemi Lardizabal-Dado

You may contact Noemi (noemidado @ gmail.com) for speaking and consultancy services in the following areas: Parenting in the Digital Age (includes pro-active parenting on cyber-bullying and bullying) ; Social Business ; Reinventing One’s Life; and social media engagement. Our parenting workshop is called "Prep to Prime (P2P): Parenting in the Digital Age (An Un­Workshop)" P2P Un­Workshops are conducted by two golden women in their prime, Noemi and Jane, who have a century’s worth of experience between them. They are both accomplished professionals who chose to become homemakers. This 180­degree turn also put them on a different life course which includes blogging, social media engagement and citizen advocacy. They call their un­workshops Prep to Prime or P2P, for short, to emphasize the breadth of their parenting experience. They tackle different aspects and issues of parenting ­­ from managing pregnancies, prepping for the school years of children, dealing with househelp, managing the household budget, to maximizing one’s prime life and staying healthy through the senior years.

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