I often find myself afraid to start something new. If I decide to do one thing, surely I will miss out on another. My mind tries to calculate every possible pro and con, weighing the benefits and drawbacks of each decision.
Finding myself in a particularly negative mood one day, unsure of what I'm even unsure about, I close my eyes and envision myself standing before several paths. An unbearable question grows larger in my head: Which should I pick?
But how can I possibly be expected to pick just one? Shouldn't I be granted the time to try them all out? Otherwise, how will I know it's the right path? The best path? What if I miss out on incredible opportunities by choosing this one, and then I'm left to deal with a lifetime of regret?
I can feel my mind spiral as I try to think it through. It leads me to the more significant question, which I realize is the source of my particularly negative mood this day: What am I doing with my life?
I only have a finite amount of time to live it, so the idea that I need to get everything right the first time strangles me. Which path am I supposed to take? Which will be the best for me? What does the best even mean?
Fear subsides, and anger takes its place, coupled with annoyance for trying to think my way through life.
My heart whispers over the swirling thoughts within my head, so calmly and sure, "Don't worry, just pick one."
Relief floods over me. Perhaps my heart knows something I don't.
I feel the weight lifted off of me, and I am granted permission to release myself from an impossible task: predicting the future before it arrives. I no longer fear making the wrong choice.
From this, I realize there is no wrong choice, except the one where I never made a choice in the first place, where I never picked a path to start on, where I lived a life that never moved forward, a life devoid of new experiences just for the very sake of experiencing.
Keeping my eyes closed, I envision myself beginning down a path I selected for no particular reason other than that it seemed intriguing and looked like a good path at this very moment.
As I walked down the path, free of the fear of missing out, I created space within me to enjoy my surroundings. I smile as I look down this metaphorical path, at the birds in the trees, the ants crossing the trail, the sun shining on my face, knowing that, had I not started down this path in the first place, these encounters, these experiences would have never blessed me. Something even more beautiful reveals itself to me then; from where I stand on my symbolic path, I can see between a gap in the trees that another path exists, running parallel to mine. An alternate journey I could've taken that would have shown me different things. I realize that should I decide to leave my path for the one I see across the trees, I needn't backtrack to reach it but instead find the trail that connects the two from where I am already.
My path contains infinite branches and different choices I can make should I have a change of mind or heart. No turning around or backtracking is required, and there is no reason to regret my original path. The branches from my path represent all of the options that lie before me, options that wouldn't have been possible or accessible without having taken the first step down this current path long ago.
We are never stuck or trapped within our journeys; the only obstacle we must overcome is ourselves. The only things stopping us from moving forward are our own feet and our minds' limiting beliefs.
There will always be a million paths to choose, but the one I am on is just fine. I can reassure my current self that I am making the best decisions with the knowledge and resources I have. Indeed, my future self will understand this and be grateful for the life I enjoyed along the way. I am already thankful for realizing that nothing in life is in the way but simply on the way.
My heart whispers, "Don't worry, just pick one." it reminds me not to take life too seriously. All paths end at the same place, but the experiences we have along the way make our lives unique and fulfilling. So why not enjoy our current path, if only for the sake of fully experiencing it?
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