Many times in life, if I start on a path and simply trust that I will eventually arrive somewhere, I will get there. The path may be much longer than necessary and I may see some rather interesting things along the way. That is one way of ending up someplace.
The other is to get a map. Plot out a course. Map every turn and follow the path exactly. I'll get there. I'll get there efficiently. I may miss the opportunity to see some interesting things along the way.
And of course, there are paths in between. I can map everything out but occasionally stop along the way or take a slight detour.
To achieve well being, just wandering may work. It certainly feels like that is the course I have chosen in some cases. However, I can speak from the experience I had last year in training for the marathon when I say that having at least a somewhat detailed map really helps. It gives me a path to follow. It gives me an idea of what I need to do and when I need to do it. And then, if I choose not to follow that path, it is just that--a choice. It seems better to have a plan and then have the freedom to choose not to follow it (and later to figure out how to get back on it) rather than to just wander.
As I am finally over the cold I have been dealing with and thinking about how to balance everything out for the remainder of 2011, I have a real sense of needing to put down on paper not just my 10 resolutions that I wrote January 1 and not just some daily thoughts in this blog, but a real plan of exercise, yoga, self-maintenance activities, and other activities that have to be fit in somewhere (even if just for short times) to maximize my well-being. I may not follow the map 100%, but it is likely to help me get to where i want to more more efficiently than I'd manage otherwise.
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