Staying on track….

LLife throws us many curves, doesn't much matter what your perspective is on Fate, your raison d'etre, or your beliefs.  So how do you stay on track?

Recently, our forum has had much to say about "where we are" in the universe.  Should we live for today?  Or maybe for tomorrow?  Seems we all agree, we can't live in the past.

Now for purists, we can't live for tomorrow, for it never comes.  When it gets here, it is today, and thus, we must live each day to the fullest.  All well and good, as long as today is on the right path to tomorrow, and all the other tomorrow's to come.

Our forum and editorials have hopefully elicited some soul searching on where you are today, where you have been, and where you hope to be.  Those questions will create very different thoughts, views and answers for each of us.  And that is a good thing; otherwise we are on a crash course amongst ourselves.  Rush hour in the big smoke gone totally astray.

Supposing (isn't that better than saying assuming?) we have our "path" firmly engrained in our minds, what happens when we hit a roadblock?  How do we deal with the sometimes trivial, sometimes gigantic issues that just always seem to be cropping up?  And how do these issues affect a relationship?  Or, better yet, how does a relationship affect these issues?

No more dream relationships, I think we have all agreed they really don't exist.  But, I do still have this one glass slipper…  Closing our eyes, imagining that perfect world, with that "healthy" relationship, and those ever so troublesome issues that just won't stay at bay.  Can we find a way to build that relationship by sharing the issues?  Or do we blame these issues for building walls, roadblocks in the relationship path?

To me, a healthy relationship is one that builds on each other's weaknesses (notice, I didn't say faults, I have none…) and uses the combined strengths of the partners to protect each other and the union against the outside world and its harshness.  Through communication, the cornerstone of a healthy relationship, we can discuss all the issues, making even the most grandiose seems trivial with the ultimate power of WE.  Is there anything WE cannot cope with?  Should there be anything we can't cope with?

Sure, easily said, right?  But what if you had to live through what I did?  Isn't that the question we all have?  Okay, let's think about that…  What are the worst possible scenarios, and how can they be overcome?  Illness?  Betrayal?  Death?  Financial hardships?  All have merit, but in very different ways.

What is the hardest emotion to overcome?  How about fear?  Maybe pride?  Or possibly guilt?  Are we dealing with the hardship, the loss if you will, or are we dealing with our self centered emotions and cares?  Not that either answer is wrong, but do we honestly understand where we are in the process?  Everything we do has a process about it.  And how we deal with the issue and the process varies from person to person, issue to issue.

I find this forum so enlightening.  Some days, down right entertaining.  And other days, I feel a twinge of sorrow, for I realize, I talk a good talk, but do I always walk it?  It seems so easy to give advise to others, but can we take our own advice?  And apply it to us?  Well, if the cook will eat the food, it is safe for everyone else, so I find myself constantly re assessing my own priorities, my own issues, and my own processes.  And hence, the beginning question…

How do we stay on track?  Which track is right?  Whaddayamean, track, I thought I was waiting for my ship to come in!

I like the journey, enjoy the scenery, and love the learning associated with life.  Much of my philosophy on fate, and different paths, revolves on what I have learned, or think I have learned.  And each time I do that re assessment, I can't help but wonder, am I getting closer to the true goal, or further away?  Are we running away from the issues, or are we meeting the challenges and forging ahead?  Truth is, I don't know, but eventually, I will get there.  (Personally, the longer it takes, the better, cause reaching that goal is the end of the line)  It becomes so interesting to me, to take your thoughts, and see how they match with mine.  I don't have all the answers; some days I don't have any of them.  But by sharing our thoughts, thinking about our own writings and thoughts, and comparing notes, isn't it making it all a little less troublesome? Jeff Davis December, 2000