Whenever I walk down a familiar street, I tend to only look at the street-level. It keeps me on point and gets me to where I’m supposed to go to faster. Same applies when I walk my way to other places. There was always a reason for me to be there, going through the effort of lifting and shoving my feet up and down, one after the other. It was always the destination.
I forgot the path I take to get there.
Looking at the circumstances I’m in now, it looks like I’m doing the same thing to my life in general. Pursuing my goals, lofty or not, with the grim, relentless resolve of someone who has no other choice but to do so. It’s working, alright. I’m in a good position for advancement in my career, I could make ends meet for my family, I’ve got good friends willing to go through the thick and thin with me, and more romantic attachments than I thought was possible for someone like me.
At what price?
The Machiavellian strategy I’ve unconsciously applied to day-to-day living has already started yielding some unfortunate and ugly fruits.
I’ve lost some very important people in my life. One who could have been a life-long friend, had I not taken the path I took. The other, someone who I could I could have spent the rest of my life with. A schism has begun to form in the once solid relationship I had with my family, and there was no one in particular to blame, possibly except me.
I was at a point where I was willing to go all-in with my bets, and irresponsibly so. I wouldn’tve cared less if the world burned for what I have done. I was a man possesed by his own demons.
I had no ONE wake-up call. It was more like slowly waking up to the fact that the world you used to be in now lays in ashes outside your doorstep. Gradually realizing it’s never gonna come back. Let me tell you, it’s not a very good way to start your morning.
Out of the rubble, I was able to atleast salvage a bunch of important stuff, and I even had a few new things come into my life. It wasn’t like the old days, but the way it is now looks very promising.
In this new and fragile world I’m in, I’d need to take caution with the pa
ths and ways to get to where and what I want. Read the writing on the wall, listen to the voices in the wind, and all that stuff.
Now, strolling down a familiar street, I never forget to look up and around. It’s important to mind where you’re going, but it also pays to watch the path you take to get there.
Plus, the view’s always nice.
Within The Cypress Forest 