Saturday, January 5, 2013

Keep your eye on the fencepost.




I am envisioning my future


When I was 16 I got a job moving sprinkler pipes to water a farmer's hay field. He taught me how to unhook, move, and then re-attach each section of pipe so that the field could get watered evenly each morning and evening. I was told that I should focus on a distant fence-post each time I put down a new piece of pipe. I thought I knew pretty much everything at that age and was quite certain I didn't need anyone to tell me how to put things together in a straight line. I ignored the instruction and just looked at each pipe I had previously hooked together and lined up the new one I had just moved over. When I finished I went to the top of the sprinkler line to turn the water on and saw that my sprinklers  zigged and zagged more like a slithering snake than anything that remotely resembled a straight line. 

I can't live in the future but I need to do more than look behind me or just a few steps ahead.  Unless I have a vision of where I am going I will never get there.  Having a clear idea of what I want keeps my path focused just like aiming at a fence post could have kept my sprinkler line straight. If I have no idea where I am going, any road will take me there.  Today I will create and refine the vision of my future.  



What do you envision for yourself?  Comments and feedback are always appreciated.




3 comments:

  1. I am envisioning and working toward a life in which I am good enough for me. Where I do not act in hopes of the approval of others. Where I can look back on my day and say it wasnt perfect, but I did my best. Where my kids know that failure is possible but not fatal and that if you did the best you could you can be proud. Where I see triumph as a possibility when faced with adversity.

    I envision peace and acceptance above all.

    RB

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    1. That is certainly a vision worth striving for. Very well articulated and I particularly like what you mentioned about what you hope to teach your kids.

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  2. It didn't hit home until I read this affirmation that I haven't really ever envisioned my future. I've maybe thought about things I'd like to accomplish, but instead of taking the time to think about where I'd like to be in 5-10 years, I've been stuck in the mindset of just getting through today and hoping the future has good things in store for me. It's a depressing way to go through life.

    Today I envision myself as a having a nursing career within the next 5-7 years. It's a daunting task to think about going to college for the first time. I'm terrified of the obstacles ahead of me, but I'd rather struggle towards a career I'll be fulfilled by, than settle for less and work just to work. The time it will take to reach my goal will be considerable, but time will pass regardless of my path. I'd rather be on a path headed toward what I want than zig-zagging toward a future filled with uncertainty.

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