One of my favorite songs is SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW. It touches a part of me that I can’t describe in words.

It speaks of a place that we all long for, but as another song reminds us, we go LOOKING FOR LOVE in all the wrong places.

The Grasshopper put two of my favorite phrases together in a sentence for me this morning. It explains the two different paths cited by the songs above. He said, “You find the end of pretend when you stop chasing the horizon.”

The end of pretend is recognizing that we can’t find ourselves outside ourselves. That’s where we go “Looking for Love.” It’s a string of one night stands that lacks the wholeness we feel when we travel to that wonderful internal place of peace that “Over the Rainbow” describes.

When we chase the horizon, we chase an illusion that we’ve built – one that says, “When you arrive there, then you’ll be happy.” That’s the trouble with illusions, when you move towards them, they move away from you. You never arrive; you just endlessly strive.

“Over the Rainbow” is not a mystical destination like Oz; it’s a feeling of being connected to something that feeds our soul and grants us peace. “Over the Rainbow” gives us a sense that everything is taken care of.

You’ll never reach the horizon but you can travel over the rainbow. It just requires that you discover the end of pretend. That means to stop the chase for just a moment, and realize in that instant of clarity that what you are looking for is never outside of you.

If you need a physical reminder, stop and buy a package of lemon drops and bring one out when you recognize the fruitless chase. It will be your cue to allow your troubles to melt as you travel “Over the Rainbow.”

All the best,

John