Do you always pick the most direct path?

I just came back from a family vacation that required navigation.  We toggled between GPS and traffic status applications to weave our way in the most direct path possible, choosing between the shortest distance and shortest time.

But is the best path always the shortest? 

Sometimes in our deadline driven lives, we don't have the luxury of a scenic route.  However, once in a while we can choose how to get from point A to point B.  

I have personally been playing around with the scenic route.  It can feel counter-intuitive not to actively push towards an important decision or goal.  Yet there is a navigation system within us that requires us to stay open, in tune, patient, and comfortable with the unknown.  How comfortable are you with your unknowns? 
Some call it being "in flow" or operating from our gut.  In this mode, you drive slowly enough to read life's signs and are nimble enough to turn when you arrive at a path of possibility.   And when you get ‘lost’, there is no need to panic.  You are able to trust your internal compass to steer you straight.

In what area of your life are you seeking direction?  Do you turn inward our outward for this direction?

What personal goal might benefit from slowing down and tuning in to your own GPS system? I'd love to know.

Life is a balance of charting our course and being content while ‘getting there’.  Instead of mapping out your whole trip....  I invite you to be fully present with each mile, trusting it’s where you are supposed to be and knowing you will recognize your next turn.  It may be closer than you think.

This past week I watched two of my favorite people in the whole world close a chapter of their lives: Oprah and my 10 year old daughter Eva, who pointed out, "Graduating from elementary school is much bigger than what Oprah is doing!"

It was a beautiful opportunity to be reminded of the emotions of change.  Closing something familiar that you hold dear.  Opening your arms with trust to what's to come, even if you can't name it. 

Change  -  whether it's planned, desired, perceived as good, or undesired  -  requires a combination of strength and softness.  Strength to uproot.  Softness to flow into the current of what's next.

And even though I spent ten years helping others as a change management consultant, change can still be uncomfortably big in my own life.

So, I thought it would be a good exercise to ask myself ~ What is waiting to be finished, released, considered done?  A belief  . . . a habit  . . .  a relationship . . . an activity . . . a way of being . . .

Let me invite you to ask the same.  Make sure it's coming from a place of authentic desire.  Because remember, You Are Enough!  This is not an exercise of Should.  It's an exploration of Want:

What area of my life needs to be stretched and grown?

What blessings might I receive by being brave enough to try?

Whether or not we choose to graduate into something new, let's take this opportunity, with the bounties of Spring all around us, to honor those young and old who are stretching their wings, preparing to fly, and trusting their landing when they leap.  We can learn a lot from their agility and fragility, from their struggles and from their courage, from their optimism and from their action.

You may want to take a moment to tell them so.  And if you are "graduating" right now, I honor you.