Life on the Edge

7 AM. Dawn. As the sun edged its way up over the horizon, a squall moved in from the west. From my vantage point at the Peace Fire, I could see a rainbow at the leading edge of the storm make its way across Storm Bay. What a stunning and joyful beginning to this day. This morning's normal round of prayers for the earth, humanity and my own personal problems, became edged with an excited hope full of potential goodness and loving kindness for all. Walking back to the Peace Spiral I was able to photograph a double rainbow just seconds before a golden shower of rain descended upon my head.

Half dancing, a touch euphoric, I bounced back to the house for an extra delicious breakfast of a Windgrove sized coffee and four large slices of sprouted rye toast spread with three types of jam. My mood remained buoyant from having seen the double rainbow. Wanting to get into my studio to continual sanding a small boat sculpture, I quickly downloaded my e-mails and took a look at the online morning news. My mood was no longer buoyant. Talk about spoiling a wet dream. This is what I read: "......Operation Rainbow. Israel's latest military offensive at Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. At least 12 demonstrators were killed and dozens wounded when missiles were fired into a crowd of civilians in an attempt to ward off more than 1,000 demonstrators approaching Israeli forces......." How dare the military use "rainbow" in an operation of wilful violence and death. How dare any government take a universal symbol of peace and harmony and bastardise it by association with war. Government spin doctors might scream back, "Rainbow Warrior", but Greenpeace is about civil disobedience, not bloodshed. The Rainbow Coalition and other peace groups have always used the rainbow as a symbol of racial and religious tolerance. Perhaps Israel's political and military planners should use the slogan: Destroy the Rainbow. Because that is what they are doing.