Choices

The following was written to me; it's shared with you in hopes it might be of use out there...

You are traveling a road that has quite a distance although you've been on it for a little while. You may come to a point where you will have a fork in that road. Your choices are not easy. You have the dream of travel and building your career. You have the dream of having a home, a family. They are both wonderful ideals and possibly can be interlinked, but at a cost to you of not being able to keep both feet planted on that road and having the space between roads grow ever wider. Look at the long-term goals for yourself.

Until the time you must make a decision, work on each part of your life as much as you can - involving yourself with professionals in the fields you are exposed so they know the value you offer, and balancing your life so you can breathe. That means taking care of yourself. Remember to be selfish enough to take time to draw, write, play, cook, make your creative things, spend time alone to know yourself. Don't be afraid to be alone. Enjoy it.

Remember that often opportunities in life often only surface once, for one chance. A decision must be made at that time... right or wrong, that is what we often have to settle with. I knew when I turned 45, it would be a momentous time in my life - I didn't know why, but since my youth I knew it. It was at 45 that I was able to fulfill my dream of going to law school. I did it. I blew it. I will never have that chance again. Maybe I could have done it earlier in my life, I don't know. The opportunity didn't present itself and I made a solid choice to have children and a family - I have no regrets absolutely about that decision then. I do have regrets that I changed the course of my decision in 2002... there were no roads back - no opportunities left.

photo by Nate Bagley

Keep your mind open so that if you have the opportunity to develop in the career path, you take it. If you have an opportunity to settle down and it's right, you do it. Just be open to what could be and remember to branch yourself out right now to allow something to happen. You have all roads open to you - no blockages right now. Breathe. Take care of you now. Don't get caught up in any path until you have been offered the opportunity. It could stifle your mind so you lose sight of what is actually being presented to you.

I want you to remember: you are now going forward. You have a clean slate. You have a chance to make life what you want. Do not wait for anyone. If they want you, if a career wants you, they will make their offers to you for you to decide what you want. Meanwhile, you will be charting your own course, moving towards your own goals.