A wise sage called Lao Tzu once said that 'A journey of a thousand miles begin with a single step.' Lao Tzu may or may not have been a mythical figure but his quote, which is sometimes attributed to Confucius, stands the test of time. In the 1500 years since these great sages lived, and endless time before and after, nothing can be faulted within this deep observation. In fact, taken more than literally, it is a marker point of thought to be ruminated and acted upon.
Often we may stand in the face of procrastination, unwilling to move backwards or forwards, caught adrift on a tide of inaction leading us into the doldrums of mediocrity. Yet, when faced with insurmountable odds, bad habits and fears, we can take in this ancient wisdom, sit with it and meditate for a few minutes, allowing its simplistic message to permeate through the thick elephant skin of our inaction.
In the weeks that have passed since I wrote about procrastination I have embarked upon a new form of creative endeavour. One that to me, reflects the very quote that has me inspired to write. Gone is the mind-numbing thought of the mountains I must climb... the unwritten book, the album's worth of songs, the masterpiece painting... the showstopping performance on Broadway! Gone is the confusion and fear of how I am ever going to achieve these goals and the opinions of others. In its place is a much more soothing rhythm that has me hungering for more, waking up eager to write, take photos, practice guitar and explore this amazing Universe we live in.
Source: Hubblesite.org
I have let go of the destination and the distance... the thousand miles ahead no longer matters. I know where I want to go but what is important now is taking the first step. So I have begun taking those single steps. Small ones, baby steps... steps that are possible, steps that do not stretch me too much but leave me wanting enough to get up the next day and have another go.
You see, true to the form of old wise sage dudes, the journey can be taken metaphysically within the mind, emotionally with the spirit or quite literally in the realm of the relative. But best is when we combine the power of the mind with the visceral reality of the body and the eager passions of the heart. This is true balance.
There are so many steps each of us can take toward our dreams. Such little things. Small positive steps in the direction we want to go. It seems quite simple when you pull it all apart. Open and trust your heart. It knows what you love and will show you the way. It points through good feelings in the direction of your dreams. Then, focus the mind in the direction you want to go, focus on the dream you want to express, achieve, create or be. Imagine it, play with it, pretend to be it. Finally, take a step... not a big scary impossible step... (that will draw you back to inaction) but a small, achievable step. You want to travel - buy a travel book. You want to sing professionally - take a singing lesson. Go even smaller... you want to speak Spanish - look on the internet for Spanish courses. You want a yoga fit body but are too scared to go to a full yoga class - do 5 minutes stretching at home. Take the step that you can take. The one that feels comfortable and easy to take. Let go of the doubt and make a small exploration of yourself. What could I do now that moves me one step toward my dreams? Then make sure you turn up and take it. And then the next... and the next... and the next...
Me, I want to express myself more fully as a musician and writer, perhaps explore acting again as I did when I was younger, travel more, have more fun, have more money. I finally got round to buying a book on song-writing by Pat Pattison that I had been procrastinating about buying for months! It was £9 on Amazon Kindle. Cheap to buy. What an easy step. Next step... read it! This is what got me started on those baby steps. The author said just write for a few minutes a day. So that is what I do. I sit in the morning and write for 15 minutes. Then I get up and walk away. I stop the timer. I stop mid-sentence. My writing is directed and focused and when I am done, half finished, I feel as if I have not said enough and I want more. So I come back the next day eager. No big moves. No impossible tasks. For the moment I am keeping those baby steps.
It is rather like training for a marathon. So many of us pin up our dreams to the board and expect to run 26 miles in an instant and when don't reach the finish line we give up. We shelve our dreams calling them hopeless. But they are not... they are the stuff of our hearts and our passions. We must hold onto them dearly for they give us life. They give us a reason to get out of bed. Be proud of your dreams and fight for them. Not with battles against others or yourself, trying to justify whether your worthy or not, but fight for them with a calm peacefulness within, taking baby steps, doing what you can. Fight your fears with a minute of meditation on your heart. Be silent and enjoy yourself. Take your baby steps... 5 minutes a day is better than no minutes a day and a damn sight more productive than trying to run the whole distance in one go.
I think every achievement is a combination of steps, a jigsaw puzzle, slowly fitted together, piece by piece. The joy is in the doing of the thing, moment to moment. That is why sportspeople keep on playing tournaments after they have won once. For it is not the destination but the journey that counts. The steps you take are far more important than the end result.
One last thing... it seems that when we get lost in the passion rather the worry, when we embrace the steps rather than result (or lack thereof), when we open our hearts to the moment rather than the unmanifest future... that is when the magic really begins. Perhaps this is summed up best in a quote that I have often written at the front of numerous notebooks. It is from The Scottish Himalaya Expedition by a mountaineer called W.H.Murray.
“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the
chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation),
there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless
ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits
oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help
one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events
issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of
unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man
could have dreamed would have come his way. I learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets: Whatever you can do, or
dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.”
