The difficult path? The pathless path? The journey that was following your dreams? You ever go hiking or walk in mountains? I don't so much now but I used to a lot. The weird thing about a hike or walk up a mountain is that you can walk and walk, and you don't really think you are getting anywhere and not only the THE MOUNTAIN LOOKS BIGGER! You can look back over the path and you can see the bits that looked easy from where you are standing now, that were tough at the time and belittle how hard it was, and be daunted by how high and how far you have to go. Now when I go climbing or walking I always take a flask of tea. At about the "You have to be shitting me" point of the hike I sit down and have a cup of tea. I don't look at the mountain or the path I look at my cup of warm brown joy. Maybe at the sky. I don't worry about the mountain (it isn't going to vanish or anything) or about how I could have climbed it better. I just sit there and take a little rest. Then I pack up my stuff and I think about the next spot I could sit down and have a cup of tea at. I set myself a little challenge, only small. The next rocks or that weird tree. Then I just let my feet walk and my mind wander, sing to myself, maybe tell someone who isn't there something I wish they knew, think about things I want to paint, or meals I want to make, all the time I keep walking. I give myself permission to feel what I feel. Okay my knee hurts...yes it hurts, but I keep going. It feels sad that I can not climb as well as I want to be able to..it hurt too, but I keep going. Sometimes I might start laughing at something that is funny in my head..that is okay too (maybe not in Tesco's though), and the odd thing is the mountain keeps looking bigger, but it isn't going anywhere. I am the one travelling. I am only accountable to myself. The mountain doesn't care. The trees don't care. The random sheep, they don't care either. If I made it half way today, maybe I can do further tomorrow, or maybe not.
You are the person setting the goals. You.
You can't run a Marathon without training and practice. You have to start small, then add small goals along the way. Life is like that. It has injuries and walls and doubts but all that means is that you are human, just a lot more honest than a lot of people. So take a moment, have some tea (I think this ambrosia of the Gods is awesome) and give your self a break, don't think about any of the if only's or what if's, just enjoy the sky and the way the tea moves in the cup.
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