A Single Step

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Lao Tzu

This is not the first time I have used this quote. I actually used it on my very first post on this blog. Today though, I was reminded of this gem of wisdom and it gave me incredible peace.

I was sitting in front of my computer, randomly surfing the web, drinking coffee and feeling drained of energy and motivation. In my mind rambled various projects and chores I would need to do for the coming holiday season. It didn’t help that, while surfing I read my favourite horoscopes for the upcoming week; a Sunday morning ritual. Most were telling me that my activity level was only going to ramp up for the final weeks of 2016. Great, like I need to here that!

You see in the past month I have suffered several setbacks. First I contracted pneumonia for the first time in my life and I have never been as sick as I was, ever, in my entire life. I’ll add that that may be part of the reason I was feeling drained of energy this morning as I am still not 100% recovered.

The second, and most disappointing setback this past month was the real reason my motivation was less than zero. Because I was so sick this month, I had to re-schedule a weekend workshop that I was so looking forward to. This workshop, a life coaching certification, was (is) the foundation of my plans for 2017 and because I won’t be able to take the course until April next year my motivation has been cast adrift into the dark murky waters of the unknown.

And so here I sat, feeling a little sorry for myself as I aimlessly surfed, overwhelmed by the prospect of the upcoming season and feeling off course from the plans I had made for the new year until I hit upon Nicole Cody’s blog: Doing the scary things is good for us. https://cauldronsandcupcakes.com/2016/11/26/doing-the-scary-thing-is-good-for-us/

It was the second to last line in her post that smacked me up the side of my head with a light bulb moment.

Take that tiny step. I promise it will be worth it.

Nicole Cody

Of course! There it was. The wisdom I needed to hear.

Our life is a journey not a destination. There will be stumbles, there will be obstacles, and at times, there will be hubris on your path that will catch a toe and send you sprawling face first in the dirt. That is the nature of the human experience.

Your only job at that moment is to get back onto your feet, dust yourself off as best as you can, and take one tiny step forward.

It is not your job to sit in the muck while you try and reconfigure your plans for the journey ahead. That will come. The very fact the you have had this fall means that the journey has been altered. Perhaps, as you regain your footing you might find that you are facing a completely different direction than you had been before the setback and maybe that was the whole point of the fall.

Despite all our best plans for the future, our fate really is at the whim of the universe. The one and only thing that we have total control over is the action that we take in this moment.

It requires faith in yourself and faith that the universe has set this obstacle up for a reason that may only come to light far off in the future, if ever. But once you remove the disappointment, once you work through all the emotions, you owe it to yourself to continue on this journey that is your life by taking that single step forward.

Friends don’t let friends stumble alone. Help a friend up by sharing this post.