I've said it many times, our lives are a journey. We are each walking down a path or driving down a road toward our own destination. Everyone's path is different. Everyone's path is full of rocky places.
Imagine a path that bends and twists. It's mostly dirt, but every once in a while a tree root crosses the it. The trees are tall and thick and try to block your view. Sometimes their full leaves block out the sun. The snow-capped mountains stretch beyond the trees. Sometimes the clouds hide the mountain tops and they appear to have no end. The birds sing their various songs in the trees. The deer meander in between the brown tree trucks. The wild flowers add drops of color in between the tall grass.
Sometimes the rain pelts down and turns the dirt path to mud. Your feet get stuck. When they do make it out of the mud your feet are weighed down like they've grown a steel plated toe. Sometimes it is too dark. The trees block the sun then at night they block the moon. Sometimes strange animals lurk in the shadows. Sometimes they sneak out of the shadows like someone with a secret.
When it's beautiful and calm, it's easy to start looking up at the trees or the birds or the mountains. Turning your eyes away from the path for a moment can cause your toe to catch on a rock or a root and you trip and fall. Sometimes the trail is difficult to find. If you are caught paying attention to anything other than the path you may get lost or get hurt.
Turning your eyes away from the path for just a moment could cause pain. Thinking about any thing other than the next step could cause you to be lost and confused. The goal may be to reach the peak of the mountain, but the moment your eyes are on the mountain instead of on the step in front of you, danger has already come.
Those dark clouds looming ahead might bring rain. If you focus on them and worry about what they might do, you will miss what is happening in the moment, the waterfall pouring over the rocks making rainbows in the pool. The river around the bend might be too flooded to cross, but there might also be a bridge ready and waiting. Whether it is flooded or easy to cross, thinking about the river, wondering and worrying how you will cross it while still walking on the path will only blind you to what is in front of you.
Over the years I've learned to watch the next place I will set my foot. I've learned to keep my thoughts on the moment I am currently in. Looking too far ahead or thinking about all of the "what ifs" in the world always causes problems with the present. You may have plans for tomorrow, but you are living in today.
No comments:
Post a Comment