Chasing Rainbows

We descended the stairs together holding hands (I'm still not comfortable with 2 1/2-year-old Abby going it alone), when she stopped suddenly.

"Lookit! Lookit!" she cried, pointing to the streak of refracted light splashed across the champagne-colored carpet below, "I'll go pick it up!"

I laughed as she bounded down the stairs, pulling me after her. She bent over and reached for the bar of rainbow-light, trying again and again to pick it up. I explained that it was not an object on the floor to pick up, but that light shining through the glass at a certain angle caused he phenomenon.

Are we adults guilty of a similar quest? As we travel along the path we've chosen for our lives, we may be distracted from the real--the authentic--for the bright shining object that catches our attention. We try to capture the exciting ray while neglecting the goals we've already set. Without focus, we dart here and there after whatever looks good at the moment.

I love color. I love shining objects. Because of that, both metaphorically and literally, I have to examine carefully what is available to me before making a choice. That choice needs to be, not just for what is good, but for what is best--for what is authentic.