Which Way Do I Go?

There’s a sensibility that has been settling in with me, having to do with balance.  Growing up, I somehow acquired a strong belief that there were absolute truths, and most situations boiled down to a pretty simple yes or no, determined by one of these absolutes.  Lately though, I’ve been feeling that it has more to do with maintaining balance in life, which requires a broad view that appreciates the relationships of one thing to another and adjusts in order to sustain healthy perspectives.

For example, here’s an area where I’m still practicing/learning: Which Way Do I Go?

I have been working on staying mindful of my awareness.  There can be times when I’ve continued along without checking in, slowly losing touch in the present with where I am and what I’m about.  What I find helpful is to stop, ground myself in stillness, and listen.  I sink in to my roots to regain and recognize my essence.

There are other times, though, when I get stuck in my head, and I over-analyze and prognosticate, getting paralyzed by the fear of all potential missteps, which I clump together in the “futures” category of “I should have known better.”  When I am suffering from this kind of stuck-ness, I have found that the best, simplest solution is to just take one immediate step, in any direction.  The beautiful thing about movement is that it’s a lot easier to gauge whether I am going in the right or wrong direction when I am moving, compared to when I am standing still.  So, even if that first step is in the wrong direction, I at least break the stuck-ness, gain a little momentum, and feel which direction I want to go.

So, sometimes stillness is exactly what I need to feel which way to go.  Other times, immediate action is called for.  Funny, right?

Therefore, the real nugget, like peeling the layers of the onion, is: You may feel you need to answer the question “Which way do I go?” But, you may first need to answer the deeper question of “What do I need, in order to feel which way to go?”  And trust that there is no absolute answer.  (‘Cuz whether you grow still and ground, or move somewhere, you’re gonna get there!)