Staying the Course

You know, in these “tough economic times” (in quotes because I’m not completely convinced that they are all that tough!) it can be really easy to turn tail and run.  Heck, even when times aren’t tough it can be easy to turn tail and run.  I know from my own experience that sometimes it just feels like it’s time to stop chasing the dream, whatever it may be.  Believe me, I get it.

And here’s the other thing I get: while stopping the chase may be what’s actually needed, letting go of the dream altogether often isn’t.  Henry David Thoreau (at least I think it was him) said “we are not given a dream without also being given the capacity to make it come true.”  And Nathaniel Hawthorne talked about the wisdom of allowing happiness to catch up with you, rather than chasing it endlessly.  When I put these two ideas together, what I realize is that sometimes life is about waiting and allowing, more than it is about chasing and pursuing.  And indeed, my own life echoes this idea.  Sometimes, when I just sit still for a minute, the thing I’m chasing actually comes to me, seemingly effortlessly.

Bottom-line:  no matter what’s going on, even if you feel like you’ve gotta stop running for a bit, stay the course nonetheless.  Keep your eye on the ball, and know that sometimes the ball just comes to you.  It really can be that simple.  Them’s my thoughts.