Step By Step

Perhaps I am a little old fashioned, but I don’t think anything can compare with the beauty and charm of a brick home.  Its durability and low maintenance are additional attributes that make it very appealing.  For me, it also stands as a testimony to what an accumulation of small  steps can accomplish.

Years ago I worked as a laborer for block layers.  We were building 3-story condos on the bank of a creek in Annapolis Maryland.  I have no idea how many blocks I handled during that project, but the principle is the same as a brick facade on a home.  You can’t really think about the massive amount of work involved.  You just put each item in place one at a time, and eventually the job is done.

So much of life is this way.  We complete a formal education  one class at a time.  Savings accounts are built up a few dollars at a time deposited on a regular basis.  Long careers are achieved one day at a time.  We raise healthy and well balanced children by providing them with consistent love, guidance and nurturing day by day.

It would be nice if all of the things we want in life could be obtained quickly.  Unfortunately, it often requires unexciting regular diligence over long periods in order to accomplish meaningful goals.  We tend to marvel at outstanding athletic performances or the skills demonstrated by entertainers.What we fail to consider are the endless unobserved hours of practice  required to reach that level of excellence.

The sun is fueled by innumerable tons of hydrogen atoms.  Our bodies are comprised of trillions of cells working in harmony to form a single organism.  Individually none of these contributory elements  are particularly significant, but together they produce amazing results. 

Our challenge is to learn to appreciate the value of each installment we make in our future. Our daily exercise may not be particularly exciting, but living a long active and productive life will certainly make the effort worthwhile.  Sure, staying in bed and sleeping or lying on the sofa watching TV might be more enjoyable in the short-term, but we can’t go back in time and redo our lives when we find ourselves incapacitated by poor health. 

Making healthy choices is only one example of this principle.  We need to take time to envision the future we wish to have in the next one, five, ten or twenty years.  Then it is essential to determine what little consistent steps need to be taken in order to manifest that goal.  Above all, we cannot afford to wait until we ‘get around to it’.  We must pick a day, start  doing it and stick with it until we are successful.  As stated in the Tao Te Ching, “The journey of a thousand miles begins beneath your feet.”  So, start walking.