If you can’t stride forward
Then just tip toe,
Even a hesitant shuffle
In the right direction
Is better than walking a path
That’s not your own.
This week we are looking at taking a step forward. You will find that even the tiniest step in the right direction can become the largest step you ever make.
Everything starts with that first step. Every choice made since you were old enough to make a decision for yourself becomes a step. Life is like a board game where you need to get from one side of a board covered in squares to the other side safely. To do this you need a strategy. A well thought out plan that gets you to where you need to go. There is danger so you must avoid capture, there are tactics and there is the desire to win.
Unfortunately we seldom know where we want to go when we start out. We have patterns and expectations, competition, peer pressure, the media, guilt, and hormones to name but a few things that trip us up.
For most of us we trundle along playing the game oblivious that we are actually a player, until one day if we are lucky enough, we wake up. Usually by this time we’ve got ourselves totally tied in knots, stuck down a one way road feeling that we can’t escape. This is when you are tested the most. Some stay stuck, some throw in the towel and some take responsibility.
When we find ourselves in a situation where we are truly unhappy, confused or lost it’s time to stop doing the things that have got us into the situation in the first place. It’s time to be honest with ourselves and take a long hard look at our options. Usually there are a few but none of them are going to be easy. Anything that has taken time to put together is going to need to be unpicked. Here’s the thing, once you realise that you need to do something you can take the first step and even a baby step is a beginning.
When you are brave enough to unravel a situation that is not working for you, you can breathe again and move forward. It may take time and sometimes you move forward with baggage or a handicap but at least you are moving. The trick is to keep moving in the right direction. Keep breathing, keep focused on your goal. Because one thing becomes clear as you learn to play the game of life and that is what you don’t want. You may not know what it is that you are searching for, what it is that you want, but learning the things you don’t want is a step closer to knowing just that.
So tip toe, shuffle or stride out on ‘your path’. Nobody else’s path, just your path. The one you were born to walk. Because once you realise it’s just a game and it’s not about winning but about taking part, you can enjoy the pitfalls and ridiculous situations you get yourself into and dance. After all anyone can hug the side of the board and stand still. It takes spirit to dance!
