Persistence and Presence. Goals and Monologues

God made the world round so we would never be able to see too far down the road.
~ Isak Dinesen (author of Out Of Africa)

 

I've always like this quote (and Dinesen is a wonderfully observant and poetic writer) because it reminds me not to look too far down the road. I have my long-terms goals and a plan, but that's really only a dry map -- day by day, it's just concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, being no where else than "in" that single foot-fall, being fully there, fully present.

Lately, I've been struggling to take my monologues to the next level, and I said in this post that I had a good idea about how to do this. Actually -- I didn't, but now I do.

This clip from Facing the Giants is instructive on a couple of levels: one -- it's an object lesson in setting your "real" goal to simply keep putting one foot in front of the other. Of course -- you have to pick a direction, know what you're working towards, but then . . . don't worry or focus on the hoped-for, wished-for, end result. Just focus on putting one foot in front of the other. Let your attention, your heart, and your mind be no where else other than the current step. Be fully present right here, right now.

It's also a great metaphor for how to "do" a monologue: one step/thought at a time -- really be present in that step, that thought, and be no where else other than where you are . . .

. . . and you may just wind up going much much further (in terms of reaching for your goals) and going much much deeper (in terms on a monologue):