The end goal may not be attainable and that's ok. The roads in between hold the treasures.
Anyone besides me need a reset? Something almost always happens when we interrupt our patterns and it's almost always good. Maybe we're inspired to make positive changes or our perspective gets a revamp so that old challenges find new solutions. Maybe we just need a moment of healing to breathe deeply in a place that doesn't hold baggage for us. It does wonders. But, you know, we're human so we still resist new adventures and make excuses to keep us from taking another fork in the road.
I've only recently discovered a deeply held pattern, so buried in my subconscious that I didn't realize it. I tend to skip to the end. In my focus, I miss some present moments because I have my sights set on something far away. I'm revisiting the beauty of the process; the richness of the experience and surrendering to the unexpected.
Life isn't a straight line from where we are to where we think we want to be. That would just be too easy...and too boring. It's a meandering road, curvy and sometimes steep and narrow, with lots of switchbacks and it may not even take us to our desired destination. When I'm following a map on my phone, I occasionally need to touch the arrow to recalibrate. That's what I've metaphorically needed many times in the past year. Stop, get my bearings and reorient. Which way am I headed? What's my North Star? And what if it's changed its name to "East Star" or worse, what if there is not an East or North Star any longer?
My home was always my touch stone and no matter how long I was gone or how many challenges hit, I knew when I arrived home, it would all be ok. With the floods last September, that home base disappeared so I've become more present with the switchbacks and the side streets. The security I felt before was only an illusion so I'm trying, though I'm not there yet, to find "home" in the meandering and the uncertainty.
With some previous goals that now seem unattainable, my focus is on the zig-zags and it occurred to me yesterday that my time spent with you on tours is along your own switchbacks and side streets. Scotland, though on some bucket lists, is not usually an end goal. It's a magical meander along your journey; part of a conscious decision you've made to interrupt your schedule and patterns to expand your world and awareness.
What a privilege to meet you for one of your side steps! I may have known before that it's along these paths where the magic and meaning happens, but now I feel it all through my body and I'm even more grateful. So thank you for your trust and presence and especially to those who return again and again to travel with us. Reaching for the stars can be uncertain, but meandering is magical, side streets are stunning, and it's always perfect to spend that time with you. Thanks for reading.
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