Groundwork Lain

"Activity is not achievement. It is not enough to rush about beginning a lot of things and keeping busy. A well-spent life is one that rounds out what it has begun."

-- Eknath Easwaran

We run around busy. Like chickens without heads. What we don't do often enough is ask ourselves where all this activity is taking us. For some, it's taking them further and further into debt... sometimes financial... sometimes moral... sometimes something else. Sometimes it leads to bankruptcy of their dreams and desires. Sometimes people forget to really live. They forget to accomplish. They forget who they are in the process of going here and meeting there and being involved in 40 different activities that have no real end to them.

Not saying that relaxation is all bad... this is not what I am getting at. We all need a little of that too. But a little of that can easily turn to alot when it is all we do. And, yes, just because you are busy does not mean that you are getting anywhere. There is a reason that there is a term about going in circles - because it happens. When we do not try to move on, up or around some of the things we need to, we become complacent. And when being complacent is good enough, we stop moving anywhere and start to live our own personal rut.

And ruts suck... sadly it usually takes a long time to even realize you are in one. For some people, too long.

My point here is an easy one. Ask yourself today what it is you want in life. Are you moving in a direction to get it or are you stuck in one spot on your path? I ask myself regularly and I do not always like the answer. It is so easy to stay in the rut sometimes. It can even be comfortable and inviting. Warm and cozy like a bed covered in flannel sheets on a winter's morning. It is when you realize you haven't changed those sheets in months... and that it's summer and you are sweating in your sleep each night... that you need to get up and make that change.

I have been talking about my goals often lately. And I know what they are. Especially the first two. Getting my new bike for the century ride and starting on my journey to becoming a trainer. Right now I'm just saving money. And I am waiting for money from my return. I guess one could say that my whole traveling bug is being taken care of too. Another one of my goals is being worked on. (To see the world.) I have to remind myself that each day I come to work is just one step closer but it is hard to not be able to work on it in any more definite ways. I would like to be able to see the progress daily. It's as if I am building a wall with bricks. But, it's a gigantic wall where we do one layer of bricks at a time. This wall is miles long so it's just one brick after another, side by side for now. And at this moment I am only on the second layer of bricks.

My wall is going to be at least a half a mile high as well. There are alot of bricks left to lay. There is alot of life left to live. Alot of wall to build.