“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” – Lao Tzu
In this afternoon, this point of your life, have you been moving forward in your journey? Yes, the journey of life.
Never a bed of roses, never a relaxing walk. It is filled with challenges and hardships that we need to face in order to keep going forward. In this journey there are different paths and different choices. People with different mindsets, with different beliefs, different personalities. We all walk a path, a path not known to many. A path where the only light is our determination to face the challenges head on.
But though the journey is rough we still have company. The people around us – our friends, family, and more – serve as our compass. They help us in our path by showing us which way to go. They could lead us to the right path or push as farther away. But this compass may also be controlled by our burdens if we are not careful. Burdens such as disabilities or hardships that we have encountered in our life.
This burden that stops our journey from progressing. Others would jump to the conclusion that their compass is broken and therefore deem their journey to be pointless. They feel like they are just running around a circle of pain and agony where the end does not exist. They feel like they must follow the compass and if not something bad would happen. The compass starts governing their life and they feel powerless.
Their light of determination dims and they had given up. In my case, this burden was depression. I remember that I let myself stay in my room, lights dimmed, and no window open. I remember sitting on my desk and crying to myself because I felt like no one cares for me. I remember having suicidal thoughts whenever I was faced with a challenge that seems unsolvable.
But then one day, I realized that I needed to fix my compass. With the help of my friends and family I was able to fix it. My compass began to lead me to the right path, all I needed was to know that there are people who care, people who knew my suffering, people who were there for me even at my worst state. From then on, I took control of my own compass.
After I have stumbled down the path, I became more observant of where I was going. I became more aware of how my actions could affect me, because I didn’t want to fall down again. But as humans are, I could not refrain myself from doing so, I kept falling down and wanting to get up, but I find it hard. The burden that I carried was too heavy for me. But with the support of my friends, family and Jesus the weight became lighter.
Don’t end your journey because your compass is broken. Take control of your compass and go where you want to go. I went to my friends, my family, and Jesus and I do not regret that decision. Because I found hope, I found love, and I felt peace. I may not know how heavy your burden is or who controls your compass.
But look behind you and see how far you’ve come. Listen to your heart and find strength, I found mine in Jesus and I know that you will find yours. In this path we all have walked a thousand miles, some fast, some slow. But bear in mind that you are not alone you have your compass to guide you.
