photo by www.ericcastro.biz
A few posts ago, I wrote an entry entitled, “Staying the Course.” It was about staying motivated and determined at a gradual pace while mucking through the un-fun parts of following your dreams. Today though I had a thought.
What if we’re not even trekking on that path? What if we can’t stay the course because we haven’t even found the right one to start treading on?
Ever go to Disneyland? Well if you’ve been a loyal reader of my little blog, you know that Disneyland isn’t just the happiest place on earth it’s MY happiest place on earth. That’s how I ended up finding an analogy about life and D.L.
Have you ever rode the autopia ride? You know the one that is close enough to being like a real car to make every little kid who can’t drive excited about driving what they think is “the real thing.” It’s also the ride that makes young adults who know how to drive also stand in line because it’s totally not the same thing.
Well, I have memories about that ride. When I was a child, I took the driver’s seat and my grandpa, bless his heart, had the courage to be my passenger. I learned quickly that there was no real freedom involved since the car was on a track. When I turned the steering wheel too much to the right or left, the car hit the track and pushed us back on course. On top of the car jerking back and forth, I also had my grandpa scolding me to, “stay on course!”
Why am I telling you this story? Well this is what I think-if we believe that we haven’t found the right path to the right relationship, the right job, the right life, we’ve been mislead. I think that like autopia, there is an invisible track keeping us on course. We’re just oblivious to the subtle jerks that tell us we’re going the wrong way. Maybe if we wait too long, the signs get bigger and louder, kind of like my grandpa’s voice when I’m getting too far off the track.
So what’s it to you? Here’s a clue. If you meet a new guy and he starts talking about his ex-girlfriend, that’s a jerk (pun intended). Or if you’re offered a job and your stomach starts to turn when you think about it, that’s another jerk. Every time you do something that causes a reaction, think carefully about it and ask yourself why it’s happening. Your inner autopia may be directing you to a more authentic life-one that matches up with the true path towards your dreams.
