Choose Sunshine Over Spreadsheets

A Reflection on ‘Desire Over Duty’ ~ Daily Dose of Fiction

Life’s Threads

These aren’t essays. They’re not advice columns. They’re stories.

Here, the women of Echo Canyon speak for themselves. Around Riley’s veranda, at the canyon’s edge, or over a glass of wine at twilight, they ask the very questions many of us ask in later life.

Last week, in our Daily Dose of Fiction, Riley invited her friends over to muck out her pond. She knew each one would hesitate to say yes. If you missed these daily short stories, you can read them all here.

Now, they’ve come together for a relaxing evening, joined by Ben, Raven’s cousin and Riley’s treasured neighbor.

The next evening, Riley set the table on her veranda: mismatched glasses, bowls of olives, a pitcher of lemon water and, because Skylar had once teased her about being “too healthy,” a chilled bottle of gin. The pond gurgled softly in the background, newly replanted and thriving.

One by one, the women arrived. Val first, bringing a plate of cheese. Quinn followed with two journals tucked under her arm, though Riley noticed she left them unopened on the chair. Raven came reluctantly, obviously recently showered after brushing out her horse. Skylar trailed last, pleased to see her idea had taken root.

And then Ben appeared, carrying a tray of sliced peaches. Before settling into a quiet corner chair, he took note of the blueberry pie Riley had set on the table.

They clinked glasses, letting conversation drift from garden jokes to the mess of daily chores. It was Raven who finally said how hard it had been to leave the ranch and come over. But then, she quickly admitted, “Sometimes, I wonder if I’ve earned the right to just want something. To want a day without horses, without plans. Just me.”

Val fidgeted. “But isn’t that selfish? My grandmother drilled into me: do your duty first. It’s how we kept our family afloat. Desire came second, if there was time.”

Ben’s low voice carried across the table. “Charlotte used to say, ‘Duty builds the walls, but desire opens the windows.’ Without the windows, you can’t breathe.”

The women grew quiet.

Quinn swirled the ice in her glass. “I spent years journaling every detail of every day, thinking record-keeping was living. But lately… I don’t want to archive life. I want to taste it.”

Skylar leaned back, watching the last streaks of sun fade. “Maybe that’s the shift. Not throwing away responsibilities, but letting desire steer once in a while. Without guilt.”

Raven let out a laugh, surprised by herself. “I like that. Desire as steering, not rebellion.”

Riley glanced around the group, their faces glowing in the lantern light. She felt the click of something falling into place, like the badminton birdie connecting with the racket after a long rally.

“Then maybe,” she said softly, “tonight is a start. A commitment. Sitting here, filling up, knowing we have each other to count on, to help remember. Maybe that’s what keeps us strong enough for everything else.”

Ben raised his glass. “To walls and windows. May we keep both standing.”

The women smiled, a quiet chorus of recognition, each one feeling a door open inside.

Food for Thought

If you’d like, here are a few prompts for you to write in your journal.

Journal Prompts

• What duties or responsibilities in my life have become so constant that I no longer question them?
  

• Where is desire tugging at the steering wheel right now?
  

• When have I felt guilty for choosing joy, and what might shift if I let that guilt go?
  

• If duty is the wall of my life, what windows need opening?
  

• How would my life be different if I treated delight as a valid reason, not an excuse?