This is one of the turtle stepping stones that makes up a path through my Secret Turtle Garden. Of course, my turtle garden is so small, the path doesn't really lead anywhere, but the stepping stones still look cool.

Do you ever think about the path you're on? Sometimes it seems like I'm getting nowhere fast, which is par for the course for a turtle lover, I guess. You know how it is - you look around and it seems like everybody else has arrived but you haven't even figured out where it is you're supposed to go. On days like that the only place I want to go is back in my shell where it's safe and cozy and warm. I can always hang road maps on the wall and pretend.

Someone told me once that I was a pioneer, a trailblazer. I just laughed but inwardly I groaned. The thing about being a trailblazer is that you don't get to travel on the road you make, you're just clearing out the brush for someone else. A lofty goal, but it didn't much appeal to me at the time. I wanted "Easy Street," not a roadway in the wilderness. The funny thing is, when you do a Mapquest for Easy Street, it will take you right through the wilderness every time.

The message out there is that to succeed, you gotta' have a plan, man. You have to chart a course, plot your future, be strategic. No meandering, no side trips - it's point A to point B or you'll get left behind. It's a hard message to ignore. Except the people I meet who have the most interesting lives didn't have long range goals, never even dreamed they'd be doing what they're doing now. They simply did what was in front of them and gave it all they had.  

I have my goals and dreams, but it seems like the more I focus on making the future happen, the less I enjoy today. Brennan Manning once noted that the word "nowhere" can also be read "now here."  

Next time it seems like I'm getting nowhere fast I'm going to sit back and enjoy it.