A couple of weeks ago, I headed for a favorite area in the Woods. As I stepped out into the parking lot, I wondered which trail I should take. I had been thinking that where I wanted to go was down in an area where I could take advantage of the seasonal runoff, by standing in an area where the creek divided and came back together, a place where one can stand, with the sound of water all around you. The varying sounds of the water, tumbling over stones, dropping into pools, bouncing off of logs and branches, offers a medley of a water song, and an opportunity of meditation within.
Yet, I was being drawn to take a different trail, which would lead me into an area of the Woods where the Trees are bigger and taller, where the Maples stand in the bottom of a drainage and the Douglass Fir, Cedar, and Hemlock take up the sidehills. This is a place that has drawn me for spiritual consultation on a number of other occasions and was certainly doing just that on the day of which I speak.
So, I posed the question, which trail should I take? The answer came quickly and succinctly.
“First, you must go where you need to.”
“Then, you may go where you want to.”
Simply stated, there are times in our lives where the decisions we need to make are ones concerning what we need to be doing for a given aspect of our life, vs. what we want to be doing. Often enough, if we choose what we want over what we need, we very well can miss a golden opportunity. Additionally, if we take care of our needs first, our other times can indeed be more rewarding when we get to them.
I chose wisely that day, following the advice given me. The trail to the Big Trees was much more rewarding than the trail to the Water. And, I know the Water will be there when I am called in that direction, at another time.
Peter J Quandt