The Road Less Traveled*

The Medal...The Prize…The Goal...

The Achievement!!!

The supreme “reward” of reaching our goals exists today as an intense cultural value.  And getting to those goals faster and more efficiently than ever before is considered the capstone of achievement.  The world worships and adulates evidence of this mastery.

But what have we really mastered?

We have learned to be so singularly focused on the prize that we are not aware of the beautiful, engaging experiences we are passing through.  Instead, each moment  recasts itself as a steppingstone to the end goal...something to be managed, dealt with, overcome.  

And we spend great effort and time conditioning ourselves for our performance so that we can endure even while sustaining physical, mental and emotional stress.

This is not a story of beauty and gentleness, of calm and connection.  It is a story of effort rather than enjoyment, stress instead of stillness.

There is, undoubtedly, great value in developing our physical prowess, in the accompanying mental agility

and in the determination and  tenacity that makes these accomplishments possible.

But we must not be so completely consumed by the “trophies” of achievement which we feel define us as winners in the eyes of the world.  We must make room for us to also unwind and soften our ambitions to succeed.

Let’s define ourselves just as profoundly as fully awakened to the world’s  breathtaking beauty, to the exquisite joy of hearing its heartbeat as it manifests in the whimsical daisy, the rush of its rivers, the tawny cat curled sleepily on the porch.  And, most especially, to each other as we share the longings of our souls.

As we continue to climb the  metaphoric hills of our lives,

Let us embrace and ENJOY the bountiful and exquisite gifts of the journey.  

The frantic drive to accomplish our goals is man’s interpretation of achieving success in the world.  Relaxing into its natural elegance and  grace is the Divine Universe’s prescription for finding our JOY.

                       😎🌷🦋🐰🌻🐿🌿🪁

                                               Marie Helena

What a beautiful day.  Summer!!! What a gift.   Feel the warmth of the sun as it permeates your  body and feeds the soul. A good time to relax, meditate and listen. 

                                            Dan Pokora

The Road Less Travelled*

Title credited from a book of the same name by M. Scott Peck

floral image: 

Watercolor paintings

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