Sometimes we make choices that don’t work out the way we thought they would.
I went for a walk the other day. My watch was set for thirty minutes so I would know when to turn around and head home. As I crossed over a bridge and I glanced down to railroad tracks and thought it would be cool to walk the tracks instead of the busy road I was on. My walk continued down the next side street and just when my timer went off, I had reached the point where the tracks crossed the road. It was ironic, but I took the unfamiliar path knowing it would take me back to the bridge. Immediately, it got quiet and it was so peaceful and beautiful. I walked with a pep in my step and a smile on my face. It was kind of freeing to just walk, not knowing where I was but confident that I would end up where I needed to be.
The Unknown
When I reached the bridge there was no path up to the main road so I kept walking. The tracks run behind my house so I figured I would keep walking until it became familiar. I began to get tired and saw a house through the woods, so I tried to climb the bank to take a short cut home but it was steep and I slid back down. Fear became an issue as I thought about someone coming out of the woods to hurt me? Then it was panic, worried a train might come and I glanced to each side to see where I could go so I wouldn’t be hit or knocked down. It was tiring and I ended up tripping over my own feet and falling on the tracks. I hurt my hand and cut my leg as I let out a swear word and then sat there on the ground. “Well, you better get up, you have to walk home”, I said out loud.
As I walked, I kept looking through the woods trying to find a way home. Finally, I saw a road ahead that crossed the tracks. I was so relieved. Looking around, I knew I had never been down this road before, so again, I kept walking. Eventually I reached the main road and discovered I had gone much further than I thought.
The Reality
Today I thought about my choice to walk down the tracks and how that one choice was an example of the choices we make in life ~ We think of something and want to do it but hesitate because we don’t know where it will take us. Our choices start off exciting and interesting but then turn into hard work and we start doubting ourselves. We create our own fear and consider quitting or turning back. We fall and get hurt and blame it on the stupid idea. But because it became scary and hard we didn’t like it anymore.
I’ve decided to that walk again tomorrow because now I know the path, the length of it, the dangers and the beauty because I did it and I explored an area that I had never been to before. I found the strength to keep going and because I didn’t give up, I went so much further than I thought I could and I made it home. It’s not about failing or getting hurt, it’s about learning, building our confidence and doing it again. It’s about living and doing what’s in our heart even if it is a little scary.
Writing Tips
Make a list of 12 things that you would like to do. They can be simple enjoyments or big goals, activities or decisions. Do one of them each month and discover you and the world around you.
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