DOWSING FOR LIGHT

“For the sake of argument, let’s say all your choices and all your effort are destined to be a waste. You’re still very much yourself and nobody else. And you’re forging ahead, as yourself. So relax.”

- from Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

I’m about halfway through this book (really enjoying it so far) and this statement by one of the characters reminded me of another favorite quote by Joseph Campbell.

“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”

They both are about the struggle we face to shape and create our lives into what we want. Most people know that these efforts don’t always pay off in the ways we’d hoped. In fact, they can usually turn out quite differently. Those who don’t have this problem usually end up trying to sell us their motivational CDs and DVDs in the dark hours of night when nothing else is on television.

It’s easy to get caught up in what you want and what you don’t have. It’s easy to interpret the events and elements around you in a way that keeps pushing you forward in your attempts to achieve these elusive life-goals, and sometimes just as easy to interpret these things as hindrances or signs to go in another direction.

But the two quotes above should serve as a reminder of the old saying: It’s not the destination, it’s the journey. And I think it’s important that, during this journey, you follow yet another cliche’: Stay true yourself. That’s the challenge. I have that problem myself. I focus on things that ultimately don’t matter, or on things that, besides being simply symbols of the things I want, don’t really serve the purpose of my ultimate goals.

I want to simplify myself, get back in touch with what matters and cultivate the best parts of me. If I keep trying to change the things about myself I don’t like, then I’m still focusing on those things. It’s like telling yourself “I really need to lose weight” versus “I feel a lot better when I take better care of myself”

Maybe that’s too simple of a comparison. Or maybe it’s not nearly as explanatory as I’d hoped. But the point remains: simplify and focus on the good. The beauty of the journey ahead will flourish on its own.