The direction before

We are always on the path of our life, there is no way off it but how do we know that the directions we choose and the influences that push are driving us in the best direction, the most suitable for us? We do not, that is why life is exciting, the uncertainty inherent in the process.

Through my work I have the chance to talk candidly with many people in different stages of life, different age ranges, various fields of education and very diverse backgrounds. Two people can appear to be in similar life situations now may have taken very different paths to reach this point. Again, this is part of the enjoyment as many trails, multiple options, uncontrollable experiences split the paths and push us down unexpected roads.

Through these people I am fortunate to get views of life I would not see otherwise and have the opportunity to discuss things at length and in detail. What I have observed over the years is that there is a large difference in life perspectives even if experiences themselves are very similar. And, one's level of contentment is not based on their current position but rather the struggle it took to get them there.

I was talking briefly to a friend today about trying new things, taking risks with jobs and how a role can be compelling even if the field it lays within is not. I am one of those people who can always find something useful or interesting to observe or think about even if the situation itself is rather dull. But, many are not willing to put their time into the hands of something they do not find interesting to begin with. So, how do they find anything interesting at all if they are unwilling to start somewhere?

Perhaps this comes down to the randomness of life that throws us into a whole range of circumstances and introduces new obstacles and instigators on out pathway. Situations that drive us, ideas that motivate us and people who inspire us in many different ways. In many instances, it is the difficult and negative events that tend to push us the hardest off our current course and into new and fulfilling territory.

Through these events we get to experience what we may never have actively chosen had it not been forced upon us yet, we may find parts within that seemingly call to us and beckon for further exploration. A spark of interest that ignites in the darkened distance and we choose to follow even though the ground between is unseen.

For me, all of the randomness that leads to our experience is something quite amazing and even though I am scared of taking the wrong paths, making the wrong choices and risking the little I do have, I am slowly pushing further afield from just being interested in everything to taking small, but concrete steps to explore the dark.

I have talked about this before when it comes to starting my business a few years ago as that was one of the biggest risks I could take at the time and it is still a challenge each day. Steemit was another risk, albeit a more personal ego one as putting my mind out there is not something I was overly comfortable in doing but, it has been one of the most worthwhile experiences in my life.

I have always had the delusion that I would one day write a book and perhaps that delusion still lives within but, up until the start of the year, I had hardly written a word and I had never ventured deep into where I wanted to take it. What has opened up in me from a writing perspective is an interest area that allows me to invest myself into exploring more and playing with a whole range of different thoughts and characters.

For example, the 'Random acts of Violence' series I am writing for Halloween is so divergent from what I would ever have imagined myself writing but, it has been very enjoyable to get into. It also seems that those that read them enjoy them too which is good feedback as my wife will not read them anymore. She said, 'It is scary how easily you find strange ways to kill people'. This is a big compliment from her in my view as it means I have surprised her in a way that she would never have expected from me, and she knows me well.

What pushed me into finding Steemit was family and financial difficulties I would not wish upon anyone, but, if that situation led me to finding and developing a skill set as enjoyable as I find this, I hope that everybody will suffer enough to discover what is laying inside them too.

Our life arcs in so many possible curves, it crisscrosses and zigzags and gets pushed and pulled by a myriad forces. We can never really know beforehand where one path will lead over another, and what seems safe may be fraught with danger and what seems crazy may be the most valuable in hindsight.

Is there a right pathway for each of us? Yes, it is called life but the roads we take are always uncertain, always filled with unexpected and can never be completely controlled. We spend so much time worrying about our emotional safety and protecting what we already hold we forget to invest in the unknown, the place where life finds the inspiration to go on and create.

There can be no certainty in this life, no sure thing as security itself cannot exist as everything is always in a state of flux, and our personal control is narrow and imperfect. Yes, it can all come crashing down around us, we can lose everything we possess but that can happen no matter our attempts to stop it. The journey we take, the people we interact with, the things to discover in the darkness, are they worth the risk?

Perhaps in that unknown space is where we find our calling, the meaning that breaks us apart and pushes us onto a new path with a new purpose. Perhaps lost on that road is where we find ourselves. How can we know which direction we should go before we discover who we are?

Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]