We turned down the road and wound around until we could see the rainbow dipping down from the sky and into the woods to our right. The end of it couldn't have been more than a couple hundred feet from the road so we pulled off, climbed the fence and trekked in. But by the time we reached the spot where the end of the rainbow should have been, we couldn't see it anymore. We laughed and joked about how the leprechaun that guards the pot of gold had moved it so we couldn't find it. But of course there isn't a pot of gold.... or is there?
We may never know really, but something about this memory stirred me. Achieving our dreams is a lot like chasing rainbows. We pursue them, make goals to reach them, and sometimes even realize them. But it is seldom easy and sometimes we get discouraged because we get to the place where we the end of our rainbow should be and it's not there. And the thing is, just because you don't see the pot of gold doesn't mean that it isn't there. Along the way, things interact with our journey, veering us off course and sending us to a spot that can be slightly or way off our target. Timing and circumstance can take us in different direction and divert us from the pursuit of our dreams, but we shouldn't let that stop us from chasing them, just like at seventeen we didn't let it stop us from looking for that pot of gold.
As we grow older we sometimes become more cynical. I am reminded that we don't have to be. The things that inspired us when we were younger are still here every day; Rainbows, the smell of the rain on a summer' day, morning dew on a spider's web, the sound of the ocean in a conch shell...
I am still in awe every time I see the sunset or look up at the star filled night sky. I am convinced if I don't lose that awestruck wonder I had as a child, I will never grow old and I will alway be able to keep sight of my dreams. So, I for one am going to keep chasing rainbows, even when they seem just beyond my grasp.
Peace!
