Just like that it happened again – I lost my way. I must have taken a detour onto another path. For the past several months I’ve been working on a number of new projects as well as doing my own thing. I am writing a new book, preparing for seminars, and developing a new program for a high school among other things. With so much happening all around me I knew it was just a matter of time before something would take me off the path.
Towards the end of February I suspected that I had taken a wrong turn somewhere. I try not to react when I get this feeling. I believe that wrong turns are open doors for us to peak into. Sometimes an open door leads to another door and behind it is an opportunity, and sometimes it leads to another door and another and before you know it you are onto a new path. I recall saying to myself to take a peak and come right back. But I found another open door that led to a door with multiple doors – that’s when I got lost.
Behind each door were new and exciting opportunities. They all seemed like fun and within the realm of my expertise. But it wasn’t exactly what I envisioned or planned for. But it was close enough – “Shoot for the stars” I reminded myself. Me just like many of you, I got sucked-up by the attraction to instant gratification, prestige and status. I swallowed the bate.
A New Beginning
This path looks a lot different than the one I was on not long ago. I don’t feel like myself and I am doing things I would not normally do. I feel my insides screaming: Warning – Warning – Warning! But I ignored the warnings. Nothing I do feels right. It feels like everything I do I am doing it because I believe it is what I should do to get more of the same, and nothing for me. I even avoid talking to me.
This is definitely not the right path. “How do I get back?”
It was long over due. I took a timeout. I shut down for a few hours and reconnected with me. I turned everything off: computer, television, and people. And after a few minutes of breathing I was able to turn down the noise – the constant wave of chatter. And there he stood patiently waiting for my arrival.
A familiar happy face finally appeared. I smiled back and said, “hello, where have you been?” “No, where have you been”, he said. It did not take us long to get reacquainted. Within a few minutes he drew a map and showed me the way. He also pointed at where I went wrong and why. After spending quality time with each other, he provided the encouragement and support i need for the next leg of my life journey. His final words to me were: “Don’t be gone for too long next time.”
It feels great to be back.
1 comment:
It is so easy to do. I think in some cases part of it grows out of those times in life when you look for an immediate solution to a particular short-term situation; then find yourself reacting to another short-term situation with another immediate solution. And so on, and so on, and so on.
It very much is a case of not seeing the forest for the trees: you forget your long-term journey destination for these short-term solutions. And before you know it, you find yourself knee-deep in a bog wondering how it happened.
But it's not necessarily a bad thing; it's all part of the journey, and if the journey is easy to make then it's not really worth making. It's the detours and wrong turns that make it interesting, that challenge you, that give you something to think about -particularly if you're losing awareness of your surroundings. I don't like to think of them as wrong turns; I prefer to call it 'taking the scenic route to success'.
Hope that helps. And don't forget, you were never really away.
:)
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