Today I tried crossing a river and I was unsuccessful. I walked up and down the stream, jumping between rocks, scouting which ones were sturdy and not sturdy, hoping to find a viable path. I couldn’t after spending more than half an hour looking for different routes. The current was too strong.
I stopped to think why I needed to cross it. It wasn’t out of necessity, rather just the thought of crossing one was enough to get me going. In retrospect, I thought crossing the river would be an accomplishment.
Suppose I succeeded in crossing the river. What then? My vehicle was already on my side of the river. I would’ve needed to cross the river again to return home, or keep moving in a direction that wasn’t where I needed to be. So, why did I want to cross it if it wouldn’t help me get closer to my destination?
Seeing a river and wanting to cross it is instinctively tempting. Crossing one for the adventure would be a great story to share with others. But not all stories lead to good endings.
If crossing the river was out of necessity, then I would have kept looking. But it wasn’t, so I walked away.
Turns out, walking away saved me a lot of time and trouble.
Here’s my inspiration for the day.