Life's Funny That Way

Day 31

Day 31 The obstacle is the path – Zen Proverb

To me, this is the same thing as the old saying, “Getting there is half the battle.”  Sometimes the path is not well-paved or clearly marked.  Sometimes it seems as though you’ve left the path completely.  This can seem like an obstacle to the goal.  There are times that the path becomes an obstacle by taking a long, winding route to the destination.  Sometimes things on the path distract you from the ultimate goal.

A good example of this for me, something I wrote about a few days ago, is my education.  I knew I would eventually go to college.  Somewhere inside of me, even though I knew I could not handle another minute of school by the time I graduated from high school, I still wanted to go to college.  Instead I went to work.  I got promoted into my first supervisory position at a long term care facility in the dietary department.  I got married.  I got divorced.  I ran my own business.  The path lead me in various directions.  Looking back, the path seemed to be the obstacle then.  Now I realize that the path was leading me around to where I would be ready to go back to school, at a point in my life when it would mean so much more to me.  It was a sweet thing, when I saw my former high school principal (who used to give me so much grief about being a “smart kid” and “throwing it all away”, etc. etc… his words falling on deaf ears) not too long ago.  He asked how I’d been and what I’d been doing.  When I told him I’d just graduated with my master’s degree he just smiled.  I knew what he was thinking.  Same thing I was thinking, “Took you long enough!”

I think the important thing to remember is that, no matter where the path takes you, it will eventually lead to the things you want and need in your life – as long as a part of you (even a subconscious part) stays on that path.



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