Moving forward without caring

Some of my favourite times are spent looking at the stars in wonder. When you travel far enough from a city and away from the lights, you can be stunned by the awesome view of the night sky and the constellations and planets and meteors.

Just as fascinating however (for me) is looking towards the ground and observing the life that is happening beneath my feet. This can be equally thrilling if only to spend a short amount of time focusing on a small patch of ground.

The other day as I was crossing the parking lot at work I happened to see a snail crawling towards its destination. Given the size differential between myself and the tiny shelled organism, I paused to observe. The significance of the moment was not lost on me. I couldn't help but wonder at the outcome of the snail's journey.

There I was, taking human sized strides towards my goal, the front door of our workplace. It was only a small distance for me, but immeasurably distant for the snail to traverse the asphalt. Besides, I could see any approaching vehicle and move to safety, whereas the snail stood every chance of being run over.

What was going on? I had a purpose, to cross the remaining distance and go to my job. And the snail? Clearly it had an intent as well, but unknown to me. Nevertheless, it continued forward undeterred by anything going on around it. I had no way of knowing if it was aware of the dangers that lay ahead in its' journey.

It made me think. Would I be able to forge ahead on a journey completely at ease with the potential outcome, oblivious to any opposing forces or barriers that would almost certainly prevent my attainment of the objective? How would I go about setting out on a journey which I had no way of knowing would ever yield results? How would I prepare, taking only myself and trusting that I would find the things I needed along the way (food, shelter, etc.)?

Am I less, or more, prepared for my life journey than a snail? I have the seeming luxury of an abundance of resources to help me achieve my objectives, whereas a snail will just set out and accept the results.

I can be filled with worry about things going wrong, wary of potential impacts to my journey and whether to arrive safely or not at all.

The snail, I assume, does not.

As I ponder these thoughts, I'm centered on my #gratitude mechanism. I've got an abundance of resources available for my journey of life, whether to cross the parking lot or to reach my distant goals. I'm able to utilize an overwhelming supply of gifts to help me navigate to my destination(s).

I marvel at the ability of the snail to venture forth with nothing but the tiny shell for protection. I'm #grateful for the realization of my own easy path and can downplay any difficulty that I might tend to believe can thwart my travels.

So I will try to continue moving forward without caring so much about how I get to where I want to go. The journey is where the effort and lessons are, the destination is the reward.