subject: The one thousand mile trip begins with the first step: Start with yourself! [print this page] The one thousand mile trip begins with the first step: Start with yourself!
The one thousand mile trip begins with the first step: Start with yourself!
Everything in life starts with the first step. Whether you take a physical journey to Paris or Dakar or you nearest town, it is always the same, you have to start with the first step. But unless you know your point of destination you cannot decide nor take the trip.
Your destination makes you aware of your trip, where to go, how to go about it and what preparations you have to make. Unless you are an adventurer or a lost teen-ager then you decide where to go. The what for! can be a good motivation, but it is not absolutely necessary for the go' step. Reasons of your journey plays decisive role in your decision. It can be for business, looking for a job or simply traveling and sigh-seeing.
It can be just for the adventure of it, to know something about life, others and your own self. A journey without is always a journey within. Thus exploring what the world offers you means you are exploring your own self, your desires, your thoughts, your feelings, your wishes, your hidden side which is often the thing that gives you impetus to go' somewhere.
Self-discovery is one of the most important thing a human being can do. Human nature is made up of thousands of impetus, of drives, lusts, desires, needs(whether essential of secondary). Essential needs like physical needs (food and shelter), security. Social needs, self-esteem and self actualization are a must for every individual.
Our life strife is directed naturally towards the satisfaction of these basic needs. We cannot do without. But for the greater majority of humans these needs are not fully satisfied. You can have good health but not enough to eat or drink, which is the lost of many societies in the world today.
You may have physical needs but not security, wars and conflict, hatred and enmity bereft man from security. Security is absolutely essential for living, surviving and satisfying other essential needs. You may have physical needs, social ones but short of work. Work satisfies all basic needs for it provides enough, or more less enough, means to survive and provide you with your basic needs.
But the first step we can do is to decide our targets and then the way may unfold naturally. Knowing oneself then becomes a discovery through your journey. What is great about life is that we never know what's going to happen next. If we know then this takes life away with its pleasures and surprises. The thing is we have to be prepared for such vicissitude of life. Having self-confidence and self-reliance make us strong and resistant for the problems of life.
Our quest for knowledge is matched equally with spiritual thirst and metaphsyics is a journey that can providereal knowledge and self-satisfaction.
I, myself, consider the target of our lives is God and the journey to Him is our goal, whether in thought, feelings or actions.
