I used to think it was cruel to tell someone that a pot of gold could be found at the end of a rainbow; it played on a person’s greed and lack of understanding of physics, enticing them to search for that which could not be reached.  I see it differently now.

 

When my wife was growing up, she and her family would frequently come to this location (“Valley Creek”) to fish for salmon.  Wonderful stories have been told of long and slow trips in an old bus, traveling up mountainous grades at 3 miles per hour (all the bus could do), and of sleeping, cooking, eating, canning, playing, and sharing in the bus.  Just visiting there, after these many years, brought back a flood of memories from her childhood — good memories of a family that loved each other, spent time with each other, and experienced together.  This is a great place, and treasure was found even without reaching the end of any rainbow.

 

 

I recently reunited with a good friend from 20 years ago.  As we were catching up on what each of us had done over the past many years, I told of a restlessness I have — that I want the work I do to be meaningful, to change lives.  In short, I still want to change the world.  I said this in the company of my family.  My good friend understood my desires, but had to chuckle as he pointed out the obvious — the family legacy that I’ve created during the last 18 years, and how that is changing and will yet change the world.

 

I’ve thought a lot about this in the weeks since our visit.  I haven’t lost the desire to change the world (nor a great many ideas on how to do this), but some of the restlessness has been replaced with peace.  I have come to realize that, in many ways, I already have changed the world, and have treasure all around me.  The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, while appealing, will (can) never eclipse the value of the treasure I’m already making.  Realizing this is a splendid reward.