It seems that whenever I point myself in a relatively new and unpracticed direction I must inevitably hit a point where the distance seems to great to cover and I can't seem to imagine how I will get to my intended destination, let alone to the next place where I can set down my pack for a while and have a look at the map.

I am struggling greatly with knowing what to say. This may be a direct consequence of trying to write more.

I believe that admitting this will help in some way. In the least it may help me to lay down impossible expectations of myself: most of all that I would not experience feeling more than a little lost and uncertain which way to point my feet for the next phase of my journey.

I am supposed to believe my success is inevitable. That's what successful people do right? I’m to focus on that and it’ll make the sense of feeling lost melt away, leaving only the possibility of the determined action of a visionary. (Settle down, Francis.)

Here is my comfort: I have been listening to the audiobook version of The Three Marriages. And sometimes the right words at the right time can be quite energizing. Here are some of the words of David Whyte on the benefit of being lost:

…for those that are lost, their life depends on paying real attention. If you think you know where you are, you stop looking.

…that feeling far away is a normal human experience and that feeling far away from our own life and our own work can be an essential part of its very discovery. Feeling far away is to be examined and understood rather than disliked and dismissed.

… to look at the particular way we feel distant and to see it as a very particular way of looking at the world that no one else possesses and that bestows very precise insights.

When I read this, I find it much easier to substitute for “inevitability of success” a faith in perseverance, which has more humility than hubris, I can more readily connect my current struggle with the early emotional stages of my past successes.

I have a goal to write more. It looks something like this: I’d like to share an examination of the power of ideas to influence our emotional states and make impossible distances feel possible… make courage easier to summon… make connect practice with purpose… (Hmmmm… For this last bit, we might need a montage. Even Rocky had a montage.)

(Photo Credit: Paul Bica on Flickr)