“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” – Lao Tze.
These words are printed on a banner that hangs on the corridor wall to my children’s bedrooms. These words are so profound because life is a journey. It is a journey of many thousand miles.
How do we spend the days given to us wrapped as a gift of Life? Is it filled with to-do lists? Is it filled with activities that don’t give us any meaning? Is it filled with wishing and dreaming but never blossoming to fruition?
Life is a precious gift. It is a miracle. It is a blessing. For many, the journey in our life is a path of steps. Recognize that this path has no defined route, direction, shape nor form. But without a map, how do we know where to go?
This journey of a thousand miles just begins with a single step. With each step, our internal compass will spin around and it is up to us to heed attention on where is our own North Star. By following our own internal North Star, we walk towards our brightest light and best versions of ourselves. But without taking any steps, our compass never spins and we feel stuck and paralyzed.
Something can feel daunting if the desire is too big or lofty. Rather than giving up at this point, take a single step towards the bigger vision. Just like an infant beginning to walk, he/she needs to take a single step before he/she can take a series of single steps. Goals are achievable with a series of small single steps. This website was a compilation of many small single steps.
My life has been my journey. Every moment led to the next and I believe it was by having an open and very curious mind that led me to take another step and another step. Knowing the destination was not as important as paying attention to the learnings along the way. I would try new things and take notice as to what my body, mind, and soul would say to me in their own languages. Each step taught me something new, revealed new findings, attracted new teachers, and created new experiences that I never would have discovered if I had not taken a single step.
Turning it over to you:
What would a single step look like for you?
Look back 10 years in time and see what steps you took to get you to where you are now. How did the steps lead you to where you are today?
Would it be enough for you to stop and stay put from this point forward?
Tips and tools to hopefully help you:
- Imagine the childhood game “Hopscotch”. Decide where you want to throw your stone to and ‘hop’ there.
- Steps are not measured by gap distance; it is measured by absence or presence of a step taken.
- Whatever question you ask yourself, look it up on “Google”. There is an answer if you seek and for every question that you ask.
- Notice your level of fulfillment and/or engagement at each step. Each step is meant to learn something about yourself.
Life is an adventure and a soul school and you are meant to be here on this planet to learn from your series of single steps. So go ahead, take that step. Sometimes it may be forwards, backward, sideways, up, or down. Regardless of where the step lands, congratulate yourself for being willing to take that single step.