Sidetracked

Have you ever been sidetracked while right in the middle of something?

Have you ever been sidetracked by something that would, at first, seem so trivial and unworthy of being a distraction?

Have you ever been sidetracked into doing something vastly different from where you started off?

It seems to be that I have.

I’ve always been a North Star kind of person. You know, the kind that holds true to a goal set at the inception. It was the only way I knew how to live, the essence of my existence.

But that’s when it all started.

At first, only a few small reflections, signs too obscure to be held true.

The more I paid attention, the more it became clear.

And soon enough, it all started to make sense.

And that’s when it happened.

I got sidetracked.

Where I ended up, it is only the beginning of it all.

A new North Star.

Self-awareness.

It’s amazing how you can live such a large part of your life with goals and ideals that seem completely rational and true to you. It is only until you truly listen to that tiny voice inside of you, the one that’s always been there but you couldn’t hear because it was suppressed in all the noise of the outside world playing a song so loud, the one who’s tune you danced to, the one you had memorized the words to. And you sang it from the stage of your life, as the world listened to the little showman it had crafted, not knowing that one day the star inside of you would shine and sprinkle it’s stardust all on that road – the one that will take you on an everlasting journey, into an adventure which is always beginning.

The many pivots in life aren’t always a bad thing, they teach you to be agile and aware, they teach you not to take things for granted, and let gratitude be the underlying tone of your life. They teach you the value of focus, but also that of perspective, and how both of those can evolve and change and you live longer into your life. These pivots they teach you the power of goals and North Stars – the ones you craft for yourself and then the ones you should never challenge – an open mind and conversation (with yourself or others). These pivots are ones, the non-dreamers say, usually disguised as distractions to misguide you, sidetrack you, from that which is really important. But I assure you if you are walking on the path of self-awareness, being sidetracked could be the beginning of the best adventure in your lifetime.

For now I’ll say being sidetracked again, I await with an open mind and heart as a new adventure unfolds and I’m off to a new start!