During a morning walk, I followed a beautiful path through the middle of a row of cypresses. I was struck by how straight that path was. I paused to take a photo, and also to sigh a big sigh: this is NOT what my life feels like right now. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the road was laid out before us, straight and undeviating, and clearly marked? Wouldn't it be even more wonderful to actually SEE the imagined destination beckoning at the end of that road? Sadly, this has seldom been my experience. I may have a crystal clear vision or goal, but the road I take as I pursue it is full of surprises, twists and turns.
I have always considered myself a "purposeful" person. I would even say that I have achieved a fair amount of the goals I've set for myself. Reaching those goals, however, usually involves following the breadcrumbs, and taking one step at a time, trusting the next step will always be revealed. It seldom looks like the straight and narrow path through the trees that you see here.
This second photo is a more accurate rendering of how I move in the direction of my vision. As I reach for the sky, there are twisting and turnings. Sometimes branches that looked so promising are lopped off entirely. Yet, what emerges can be something of great beauty. Trial and error. Head-on collisions. These are inevitable. Maybe these are also the places that we build the muscles (both physical and spiritual) that enable us to reach that destination we envision.
My counsel to myself (and to any that read this) is to trust the process, for the journey itself is surely shaping us. If this means dropping the illusion that we need to predict our outcomes with six decimal figures of accuracy, so be it. I will continue to follow the breadcrumbs, trusting that with each step I take, another will become apparent in its own, perfect time. If I can be deeply present in each step (and keep my sense of humor) I may just be transformed by the journey itself. This step, this moment . . . it was always enough. Not all who wander are lost?
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