Charting Our Path Ahead
Where are you going? Not today, not in 1 year, not in 5 years or even in 10 years. What is your ultimate aspiration in life? What do you desire above all else, what may even seem impossible?
This is the most important thing we can think about yet how many of us actually have a vision of what this looks like? We commonly think of what’s next, but do we ever think of what’s after our last next? How will we ever get to this point if we don’t know what it even is? We all need something to aspire to, an internal GPS leading us somewhere, something that lets us know we’re on the right track and are moving towards our ultimate destination ahead. There will be plenty of ‘nexts’ along this path. These pit-stops are good. They let us know we’re moving the right way and that we’re getting closer to the destination.
Time spent moving the wrong way
Have you ever missed your exit on the freeway and it seemed like it was an eternity waiting for the next chance to turn around? Or what about those frustrating moments our phones die when we most need them halfway through directing where we need to go. These are incredibly frustrating times for me. When I’m not sure if my moving is helping me get closer to where I’m or going or taking me farther from it, I become very uneasy. I don’t like to waste my time and there is no better waste than to spend time driving in the opposite direction you’re going. Every minute spent this way is multiplied by two since you will be having to turn around and double back along the same road. This annoys me greatly but it’s usually never more than 10 minutes I’m delayed max.
Just 10 minutes!
How would it feel if you were more in tune with the choices you made in your day to day or year to year life that are moving you in the opposite way? These are no small matters and far greater a delay than 10 minutes! We may spend years working towards something or moving in one path only to find out we’re going towards the wrong thing or in the opposite direction the whole time! This will take far longer to correct than missing a simple freeway exit but nonetheless, it brings peace to know you’re correcting it and our back where you need to be to get to where you want to be going. And so, let’s determine finally– where are we going?
Let’s map it, where are you going?
Take the next moment in some quiet time to ponder what this looks like for you. Many religions strive for a Heaven; you may not be religious but I’m sure you’re familiar with the concept. What do you see when you think of Heaven? Let nothing be too far fetch or out of range here. Allow your imagination to run free as it reveals this place to you. You may be able to consider it within the context of the world or maybe it’s too hard to fathom here and it seems more natural to be somewhere else. Take time to notice the small details there. How do people act? What are they doing? What’s the feeling you get when you approach them? What’s the area look like? How do you feel when you get there? Are there any worries or fears you can feel or is it only peace? Is there any malice, ill-will, or jealousy or is there only love and acceptance? How do these make you feel?
So what’s next
All of these things you imagined may or may not seem possible in the world you live in now– that’s okay. There’s a continuum along the way and we may not be ready to max it out right now. How can you live in such a way that moves that continuum closer though? These are the ‘nexts’ in your life. We can only control ourselves and usually, that’s hard enough. So, what can you do to bring this Heaven you just imagined closer to reality? Those people you thought of that were there, how can you be more like them now? That feeling you felt being there, how can you help to bring that feeling to others now? These are just a couple of ideas to set your path ahead. Now that you know where you are going, you’ll be the best guide to finding the way there. Take joy along the way, as you saw, there will be much more where that came from once you get there!