I ‘m sure that Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel had me in mind when he
wrote:
You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes, you can steer
yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own and you know what
you know, and you are the guy who’ll decide where to go,” (Dr. Seuss’ Oh,
the Places You’ll Go!)
Although he may have overstated the “brains in my head” part, the rest
is very accurate. Yet at times, I am not entirely sure I can take full credit for
where I went or why. Often, I followed the route of least resistance, my sort
of “go with the flow” philosophy at work. Then there were the moments
when fate seemed to push my choices of where to go and what to do more
than my own judgment or decision making process. But oh, the places I
have been. Some of them are surely beyond anything I might have expected
when I first heard those prophetic words of Dr. Seuss.
My life has been a wondrous ride that has taken me all over the world and
allowed me to meet and become friends with some incredible individuals,
while enjoying a multitude of extraordinary experiences. Did I deserve
any of this? I doubt it, but it happened anyway. Fortunately for me, life is
not based upon what I did or didn’t deserve, or even upon what I did or
didn’t do. I had no magic formula, yet somehow I wandered in the right
direction at the right time.
I have found that there is no perfect life, as each of us has our own vision
of what we want or think we want. Ultimately, our lives are simply what
they are, nothing more, nothing less. We pursue our own dreams, seeking
what we believe will make us happy. Some people make good choices,
others not such good ones. Many times not making a choice is the deciding
factor in where our lives lead us. I have found that quite often we tend to
agonize over what to do and when to do it, even though it will make no
difference. However, none of us has a crystal ball that can magically tell us
what is the right thing to do. At times I wish I had been given a manual
to follow when I began my life. But then I realized that even if I had been
given directions, I probably would not have followed them. That is why I
have chosen to dance through life, one foot in front of the other, not always
in step and at times off balance and ungraceful, but always listening for the
music in my head that will guide me in the direction I need to go. So just as
Dr. Seuss suggests, if it is to be, it will be up to me. Blaming others or fate
is not realistic, even if it may be true.
Therefore, I like to believe that somehow we each find our own way as
we stumble through life, and we should be thankful for any and all of it,
no matter how it turns out, since it could have turned out worse, as easily
as it could have been better. As for me, if I could have written my own life
story ahead of time, it could not have turned out better than what I have
been privileged to enjoy.
I’m not myself today and everybody has noticed the improvement 93