One time I was asked why my life seems so uncomplicated, which first of all, I had to admit, it only seemed to the other person to be so, for it has never actually been uncomplicated. My answer, after brief thought however, considered the reason he had asked me, and I supposed it was because for him, life had constantly held let down after let down and nothing seemed to work long for him before it would fall apart and he would have to move on.
What I said was that some people wake up each day and they have a larger goal or destination in their mind, a purpose bigger than what they can accomplish that day, while others merely get through the day and largely let the outside events of the day dictate their overall direction.
The second example could be likened to someone who wets their finger, tests the direction the wind is blowing and then sets their sails to go that direction. At the end of each day their progress is only measurable in forward movement, but in the long run, they may be running in circles accomplishing nothing over the course of a week, a month or a year. Or a lifetime.
Contrast this with the person who awakes each day with a goal (the same one as yesterday or maybe bigger) that rises above the day to day scuffle with circumstance and is measured against a goal that rises above the tree line making the daily as well as the weekly and monthly movement toward it, constant and measurable over the long run in progress toward that singular goal.
Each day, I arise with a purpose that transcends the daily or weekly obstacles that attempt to obscure my path, and because I can see the goal rising above the forest, my direction is more constant from one day to the next. I liken this to using the celestial movements of the stars or the sun or even the mountains in the distance to help me determine the direction of my daily walk, so that in the short run as well as the long run, my direction remains constant and measurable, not only in forward progress but in less time remaining from one day to the next, to achieve my distant but constant goal.
My walk is not perfect, and at times, all I can see are the trees and the predators, but more than a few times, I hit a clearing, and the mountain comes back into view and my faith and my purpose are restored. We are 100% more likely to achieve a goal that is planned and patterned after those who have gone before and know the way, than to follow the wind, or those who want only for the path to be fun, and care nothing for the long term results of their journey.
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