Getting Where You Wanna Go

When I hear the same version of something three times in one week I tend to take notice.  The first time was when IMing with my beloved friend, Peter Pumpkin Eater, about my fear of driving in the impending snow (we had our first hail storm Saturday).  He passed along some words of wisdom his own father told him once,  "Steer where you want to go, not where you are going."  An interesting metaphor for life as well as how not to kill yourself in inclement weather, so, I filed it away for future use as a yoga theme.

Then I ran into a lost woman on my hike Saturday.  Being the charming southern girl I am, I struck up a conversation with her and convinced her to finish her trek with me.  She had bear spray and a dog.  I had neither.  She's also a counselor and starting her own preschool (but that's a post for another day).  At the top of the mountain as we were gazing down at the future ski trails, I commented on all the trees and how mildly terrifying that is for this beginning skier.  Images of Sonny Bono flashed in my head.  Her words of advice? "Don't focus on the trees right in front of you,  look past them to where you want to go."

My ears perked up because that sounded a lot like what Peter Pumpkin Eater told me earlier in the week.  But being slightly hardheaded, the universe had to hammer me with the message because the third time really is the charm.  It came when listening to NPR this morning.  I only caught the end of the segment but it was enough, as the interviewee posed the question, "In the end the question will be, did you get distracted by the small things in your life or did you live in a way that you became who you were always meant to be?"

Or in other words, did you get where you wanted to go or did you focus on the trees, or the snow, or the boys, or the money, or the food, or the shopping, or whatever it is you use to distract yourself from your true path?

Are you living your most authentic and well aligned life or are you skidding along hoping you'll eventually get there and praying you don't crash into the trees in the meantime?

The answer changes for me daily.  But hopefully in the end I'll be able to say I missed the trees and steered where I wanted to go.  What about you?

Much love,
Sara