No Earthly Way of Knowing

There’s no earthly way of knowing
Which direction they are going!
There’s no knowing where they’re rowing,
Or which way they river’s flowing!
Not a speck of light is showing,
So the danger must be growing,
For the rowers keep on rowing,
And they’re certainly not showing
Any signs that they are slowing…

~ Roald Dahl

Inflation is a grace and a curse.

All accomplishment rests on something audacious; some claim of mastery, some illusion of confidence, some seduction by demon Certainty.

The winds of spirit both carry us and carry us away.

The challenge of any vision is to be drawn toward it, to serve it, to build and construct it in the world without ever hoping to possess it - or it will quickly possess you.

Some hope their imprint will be large. They desire fame, visibility and influence. But what if their true call is actually served through every small thing that they do?

Some people seek small quiet paths that feel safer, more camoflauged, protected. But what if these can only play out their destiny by taking the risks they most fear?

Do we ever know who we are?

Does it matter?

Is it even our business to decide?

What would it mean to offer one’s self-up? To decide that in ways big or small or in-between - that we will do what is in front of us impeccably? What if it is not up to us to decide the scale of what comes to us, or the reach of the gestures we make?

We cannot control the path.

We don’t know where it will lead (and if we think we do, we will surely be fooled at the crossroads).