What stone will you choose?

You're standing at the edge of a lake. The water is calm with the exception of a few ripples across the surface as the wind passes by. Your toes are close to the water's edge but you've positioned yourself strategically enough that you won't get your shoes wet. The day is fresh and new around you and although you are by yourself you know that others are close by should you need them. The shoreline is your current moment in time and the lake is your future; too wide to see the other shoreline and too deep to see what lies beneath.

Strewn across the shore are stones of all different shapes and sizes. Each one represents a possibility in your future for each one will cause a different reaction once cast out into the water. The largest of the stones will have the biggest impact but it will travel the shortest distance. The initial impact will displace the water around it and inevitably cause waves that will smooth out after they move far enough away from the initial point of impact. The smaller stones may travel farther but will have less of an impact on the water around them.

As you look up and down the shoreline your eyes eventually settle on one stone in particular. It's largely flat and looks like it's been highly polished by time, water and sand. This is the stone you will choose. This is your skipping stone. You pick it up and weigh it thoughtfully in your hand, rolling it over your palm and fingers; examining its curves and imperfections. It's not completely flat or round but it's very close and it's the best one for the job.

You plant your feet and look out over the water planning your trajectory. Beneath you; the present. In front of you; your future and in your hand a possibility. One of one billion options at your disposal. You take your stance and with a flick of the wrist you let that stone fly out over the water. For a moment it hangs between water and sky before gravity steps up to task and drags it down. It hits the water with a slight splash and immediately ripples form around the point of impact. The stone bounces off the surface of the lake and travels further out. There's another impact and more ripples. This happens again, and again and once more before the stone loses its momentum and slides under the surface of the lake. You watch as those ripples from the first impact mix with the ripples from the second, and the second with the third and so on and so forth. When all is said and done the water in front of you is teeming with activity. You know that this will not last and so you look around you to find that next perfect stone. If you find it and throw it in time the ripples from the first stone will live a little longer as they draw kinetic energy from the new impact.

As we travel through life we are often presented with opportunities that shape our future; whether that is a big presentation, a promotion or the next major step in a relationship. At times it might seem like grabbing the largest stone and making the biggest splash is the best choice but while it may seem impressive initially, it's liable to do nothing more than set the expectation that the next 'splash' will be even bigger and better. Instead, take the time to look around your shoreline. Be critical. Be discerning. Weigh your options and find the skipping stone that's right for you. While it may not make the biggest 'splash', the ripples it will create will have a farther reaching impact on your future.

Be remembered not as the person that made a big splash that got everyone soaked, but as the person who crossed that lake with a single skipping stone.