The carnival market had finished days ago and I had been enjoying the quietness of the beach in its natural form. I thoroughly enjoyed the days of revelry, going to the Rainbow Beach drive-in although I had no car, visiting the beauty parlour and receiving a lovely massage and at night drinking Rainbow Beach cocktails with some of the other travellers.

Now I find myself embracing the quiet as much as I embraced the energy of the market. I visit the beach every day just to look and gain inspiration and then I go home to my little hut looking out over the water and paint to my heart’s content. I sometimes write poetry too because the beauty of nature can inspire such words to come to me that must be put to paper.

After my afternoon nap today I came down to the beach again as I felt pulled there by invisible strings. I didn’t question, I just accepted the pull and went with the flow as I had been doing since arriving at Rainbow Beach. Wonderful things have been happening as a result of me not fighting what ‘is’ and here was another opportunity for me to practise living in the now.

I went with only the clothes on my back. No sketchpad, no pencils or watercolour paints and no notebook either. I stood and got lost in the blueness of the sky until gradually I discerned colours where before there were none. So beautiful and rich. I realised that this is how the beach had gotten its name but I didn’t question too deeply why the rainbow I saw in the sky was not at all reflected in the water below.

Image in this post copyright © Stacey-Ann Cole