Big Journeys Begin With One Step Forward

“Big journeys begin with one step forward” has been my personal mantra this month, although there has been no appreciable big life shift that is noticeable to the outside world. Instead the big step forward has been internal. This idea of taking a step and it becoming monumental starts at the very beginning when we are infants. Parents, the world over, can tell you in detail the moment their child took his or her first step. Their vivid description reveals how indelible it was and remains no matter how much time has passed. In one’s life there are so many other steps that become a metaphor for the passage of time: graduations, moving out of your parent’s home, getting married, having a child, a parent’s passing, friends passing, and so many other moments when you are reminded of the courage it takes to take that initial step when the ticking of the clock never slows or stops.

For me, this mantra has been an inner acceptance and resolve to make changes that I’ve needed to make for some time. While these changes will not appear to have visibly altered my life in general. For me the inner changes will hopefully be the start of a new phase where I become more proactive and not be so laissez faire. Perhaps the one step will propel me to write more, to not make excuses about why I’m not writing, and to be more aggressive about my work, both in the writing and semination of it.

What this mantra also reminds us is that the step forward does not come with a road map of where you will end up. While this idea of stepping into the darkness is scary, I find the idea of the unknown tantalizing since it means the road can and will take may circuitous turns. For someone who likes change and moving around, this idea is catnip for my wandering mind and spirit.