I have finally realized that I have been chasing rainbows all my life. I was always looking down the road when I could have an exciting adventure of one sort or another. I did actually manage to make some of those dreams come true, but they were never as satisfying as I had hoped. I seem to always been disappointed at some level or another. Stubbornly, I have learned that it was when my plans went astray that I had some of the most memorable experiences.

I will never forget our 2011 Eastern Canada trip. I had planned that one down to the finest detail. Looking back, the most memorable time was that unplanned night in a chicken coup turned motel room. The picture of that St. Lawrence fisherman at sunrise the next morning is etched in my heart forever. If you want to see the story about that, click here. I have written numerous posts about that one-night stay over the years.

I have dealt with some level of depression most of my life, and I have come to conclude that one reason for that is that I look forward too much and expect too much. With that over expectation, depression almost certainly follows. I have been studying depression in the elderly lately and found that I am certainly not alone with this problem, so maybe these words will help someone else who might read them.

I love the saying I just saw on the British comedy series “Waiting For God”. Diane, who is the local troublemaker in the retirement home said

My depression is endemic. It comes from living at the end of the rainbow.

That comment made me see life as a rainbow. I kinda like that analogy. We jump on it at the beginning and what we find at the end is not a pot of gold, but instead, it is about looking back to see the rainbow we made. Some are fortunate enough, to see the beautiful things they accomplished in life.

We should spend more time looking at our accomplishments rather than our failures.

That is a hard thing for me to do, but I am getting better at it as these end days pass.

I don’t know when I will reach the end of my rainbow, but I do enjoy looking back on that beautiful array of colors I have managed to leave behind.