The Way Ahead

Where are you going?

Buckminster Fuller was prophetic when he uttered the words -

“There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.”

It’s true. What we do and what happens to us today is hardly ever an accurate or complete representation of our potential and the course of our lives. The daily milestones we hit give us momentary pleasure and the ones we miss cause us fleeting discomfort. However, they do not define the larger outcome of our lives.

So, do we know where we’re going?

No. Not really.

This slow metamorphosis of becoming the person we aspire to be and fulfilling our purpose takes decades. It is trying and tiring all at once. It meanders exactly when we’re running out of patience and make haste to finish the course. But the process always takes as long as it needs to get done. Sometimes we reach a dead end and have to make our way back; other times it’s a carousel of detours; but in a few rare cases, we arrive at our final destination. And the closer we get to where we need to be the more our long winding path seems to make sense to us. After all, we can only connect the dots looking backward never forward.

The way ahead will always be unknown but what we can be certain of is the present. Today is that second chance you’ve been waiting for so just keep going. You will know when you arrive.