Whose Plan Are We Following?
School, work, a home, more work. Sometimes we can follow an ordinary path for years before stopping to ask whether it is the path we want.
There may be much in that life we value. There may also be commitments we took on because they seemed like the next expected thing.
I have wondered about this through the image of a person moving through a large machine. The useful question for me is where we still have a choice.
If we imagine a better life, what is actually in the picture? More time with family? Work we enjoy? An afternoon without rushing? We may discover that what we want is quite specific.
That doesn’t mean we can immediately leave our responsibilities behind. It gives us a direction in which to make a change. Perhaps we can simplify one commitment, protect an evening, or reconsider a purchase before adding another obligation.
We can begin by asking what we want our ordinary days to contain.
Describe one ordinary day you would enjoy living. What small part of it could fit into your life now?
Stay with this thought
A distant dream can become complicated when we assume there is only one route to it. We may pursue a large achievement partly because we hope it will eventually allow a simpler pleasure.
It is worth checking that route. If the underlying wish is time with people we love, what could we do toward that wish this week? The larger goal may still matter, but we needn’t postpone every part of the experience until we reach it.