At a Crossroads?

When you come to a crossroads, you know a decision has to be made. In the end, there are really only 4 directions you can go: Right, Left, Straight Ahead, or Backwards. Let's break it down:

Going right or left might seem like you're going off track, taking a detour if you will. This is OK for a short-time as we all have to find ourselves. Sometimes a detour is needed to go soul-searching and find out who we really are and what we want out of our lives.

Going backwards seems like a literal and metaphorical step back. In society's eyes, this is NOT a direction we want to be going. To go backwards seems like we are either just giving up outright or afraid to move forward (analysis paralysis). However, there is an age old saying of, 'sometimes you have to take one step back in order to take two steps forward'. So, it might not be all that bad in the end. We have to keep in mind that most things in life are temporary, so this too shall pass.

Face value: Going straight ahead seems like the obvious direction for us to go. This is when the vision of the future is clear, all of the people and things once in our way have moved to the side allowing us to go full steam ahead, and everything is aligned to be in the 'flow state' or the 'zone'.

Even though the answer may be clear, have we considered a fifth option--Being Still and Waiting? We might find that sometimes the best thing we can do is to wait for the answer to reveal itself to us. Think about it--we don't have to worry too much about making the wrong decision by rushing, feeling like we've failed before we started, or being so scared to not be able to make any decision at all. We can just go on living our lives like we would any way, and then...boom...the answer reveals itself to us. When it does, all will be clear. This is a form of stillness not easily achieved.

So, what's the moral of the story? To be patient, wait for the right moment, and then, when it comes, take action and never look back. In doing so, we take the stress, anxiety, and worry out of the equation, freeing our minds up to think of hopeful, positive things. As a result, we are able to live our lives in a more 'in the moment', peaceful, and joyful state.

Have a Terrific Thursday :)