Look ahead of you. What do you see? Now look behind you, notice anything different?

Since our lot in life is to move forward, and one of the keys to happiness is making progress, it’s good to get clear on what lies both behind and ahead of us.

If you want to boil it down, you could sum it up in two words that happened to rhyme. History and mystery. We leave one behind and step into the other.

Behind you is a record set in stone. Regardless of the options that were set before you, the ones you chose became the path you left behind.

Ahead of you, on the other hand, lies an infinite number of options. From the smallest choice to the largest, every decision represents a fork in the road.

“Should I eat an apple or have a donut?” “Do I go back to school, or just get a job?”

Small choices matter more when they accumulate, big decisions can turn your life around on a dime.

It’s all just one big dance if you think about it. We’re constantly in the middle of a cosmic do-si-do between the past and the future. Staying light on your feet ready to twinkle your toes is the key to better present moments.

Decision fatigue is a real peril. Staring down choices like a deer in the headlights can wear you out. Dilly dallying with decisions is procrastination’s best friend.

Think about what it’s like when you’re shopping for groceries. You have tomato sauce on your list, but you’re confronted with yards and yards of options on towering shelves six feet tall. Several competing brands offer various sizes and reasons why theirs is the best. Do you want chunks, puree, or whole stewed tomatoes? Organic or generic? The cheapest can on the shelf or the fancy one imported from Italy?

I’m the type of person who can get ‘lost in the supermarket’ for far too long, especially if I’m tired or hungry. When I ‘can no longer shop happily’ (h/t Joe Strummer) I visit my local health food emporium for fewer choices and faster errands.

Other folks are what I call “sniper shoppers”. Case in point, my older daughter. Professes a profound disdain for browsing boutiques, yet she’s always on point and dressed to the nines. Her instincts are impeccable, and she has no time to waste.

In Paris last summer, I watched as she spied a pair of magnificent shoes that will last her a lifetime from at least fifty yards away. She bee-lined for the shop, tried them on and paid before we could bat an eyelash. Effortless!

Since every moment offers more forks in the road on the great map of life, the secret sauce to picking the right path is tucked right into the vibe you bring to each moment. Step lively!

Tous mes meilleurs!

M+

ML #619

Mark Metz
Director of the Dance First Association
Publisher of Conscious Dancer Magazine