Ambition vs. Delight

I sat on my computer, toiling. My hope was low — my motivation with it. I looked out the window, rain was coming down. Hitting the concrete one steady beat after another. It was accompanied by the bright shining sun. A beautiful contradiction was at hand.

“I bet there’s a rainbow,” I thought. But I looked at the clock, “I still have work to do,” my mind fought back. All day, I had been sitting in this chair, typing away, ‘getting after it’ some would say.“But what if it’s epic and you miss it?” my heart replied. “But what if there’s nothing, you just end up cold and wet, wasting your time? Besides, you said you were going to finish this - you’re already giving in on your word?” The battle was real. In this moment, a decision had to be made. Ambition or delight?

I closed the computer, put on my shoes, and headed out the door. It was rainbow hunting time. To my giddy delight, I didn’t even have to go far. Nearly 20 steps from my stoop, I was struck by the beautiful view. A full rainbow stretched across the wide open sky. Wow. I immediately felt the joy flood in. A simple symbol, a message of beauty, awe, and hope. Of promises kept.

It’s the new year. And with it comes a list of goals. Improvements. Exercise and meal prep plans. Habit trackers. Crisps pages of new planners. Early morning alarms. Dedicated time to our dreams, tasks, and ambitions. A blank slate, that we are determined to fill in strategic, logical, productive ways.

But here, I was reminded that this was the dream. The goal. To smile under rainbows. To soak up delight. To look forward to your days. To find the joy of life.

This new year, I pray you are not so burdened by your ambitions, goals, and to-dos that you forget to go out. To wonder. To catch a rainbow. To enjoy the beauty of life that’s happening in front of you.