Giving and Taking Directions

Have you realised how difficult it is to give directions, especially to someone who is not really familiar to the area you are directing them to-forget the destination, but to get to the destination you need to at least understand the path that leads to it. You need to be able to understand what the "director" means when she says, "take a right after the Mandela Bridge after Newtown". You need to sort of 'see' the Mandela Bridge in your mind to understand where the right will take you. Nonetheless, if you do not understand while you are being directed or told, you will see it when you get there.

This to me is sort of like the lessons we get in life. These are sort of like directions meant to help us navigate through life with ease. When you are told by your father, mother, big brother or big sister which corner not to take or what type of people not to hang with or listen to you must of course listen. But that ought not be the directions you follow your whole life through. Discover your own paths, find new routes for your own self. The thing is, those people who are giving you directions had or have their own destinations. They have their own life plans. They are leading their own life's. All you need to take from them are guidelines. Guideline!! Important to understand the meaning of this word and learn to separate between guidelines, rules and directions. Suggestions and advices. Ideas, facts and opinions.

Guidelines, suggestions, advices, ideas, facts and opinions are all meant to simply help you make your own decisions. No one can ever decide for You what is good and right for You. This is one thing only You can know (if it is at all knowable).

So, much like the person in need of directions, a person in need of advice is in a journey. The difference is, however that the person asking for directions is in a hurry to get to a destination when in life we cannot be focusing on destinations. We still have to discover enough paths that lead to the same destination (I'm not going to say death is the ultimate destination here!).

Point of this post then will be; let's get around a lot, let's get lost a couple of times more, find a path you feel most comfortable in and continue walking until you are tired of the comfort and change to a less comfortable path which will also in time become comfortable and boring.

If this is your life, I gues it is only logical that we expect that the mistakes you make be only your own. Don't make your father's mistakes; Don't walk on the footprints of the greats, leave your own footprints, they'll  have the shape of your feet. That will be lovely. Next time you direct someone you will tell them to look for Your footprints, you will know what you are talking about. And next time some one tells you to take a turn at the Mandela Bridge you will know where the bridge is and you will say to yourself, "Nuh, this will not take me to where I wanna get to".

Live and Let Live!