The First Step
Written by Sharon Marie Lawlor
Photo by Brian Mann on Unsplash
Today I am reminded of a quote by Lao Tzu: “A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.”
This has a couple main takeaways for me. First comes the knowledge that change happens in an instant. Read that again. The first time I heard that, it was pretty mind-blowing for me. You may be resisting the thought of this, and that’s okay.
On the outside, it may look as though change can be as slow as molasses. However, change really happens when a decision is made. It happens when we reach a tipping point, when we decide that enough is enough. One may come to the point where the pain of being where one currently is far outweighs the discomfort of the unknown ahead.
There is a call for more. Once we enter this threshold, there’s no going back, because we’ll be forever changed. Some might call it moving out of the “ordinary world” into the “extraordinary world” on the hero’s journey. If you follow Joseph Campbell’s work, you know there’s a particular cycle that every story shares — the journey every hero must endure to bring about transformation in their return into the known world.
Challenges create this. I think of it as alchemy. The heat and pressure on a concentration of carbon molecules creates the perfect scenario deep below the earth’s surface for forming the crystalline lattice structure of diamonds. Our new mindset, focus, and determination help bring about momentum towards our goals.
Every single one of us is the hero of our own lives. I didn’t realize this until a few years ago at an intimate gathering of entrepreneurs talking about this “One Story” concept facilitated by a mentor of mine, Stella Orange. Up until then, my conjecture was that a real hero was the ever-elusive “superhero” type you only see in movies — that true heros were a myth and didn’t really exist.
This belief creates the impression that we live in a world where we’re all trapped in a distressing, never-ending quest to find joy outside of ourselves. It’s a mindset that concludes that life just happens to you, that you’re just an extra in your own life. Can you imagine? It’s exhausting to say the least!
We could instead interact with the world in an empowering way — a way in which joy can be found inside of oneself, and the rest of the world reacts to this new vibrational state of being. That’s how you direct your own life and become your own hero.
To bring it back to Lao Tzu’s wisdom, I’ll close with my second takeaway from his quote: you can plan ahead of time as much as you want, but don’t let that stop you from taking action. Don’t lose your ability to be spontaneous.
That’s where I can become stuck myself, and when that happens, I need to come back to my inner realm for guidance. Take your first step, and your next step will be revealed to you. Trust that to be true and it will be. Where is your heart calling you next? The more you tap into that wisdom and actually follow its divine guidance, the more magnified it will become.
I think of our inner realm as a hollow tube or shaft connecting us to the divine. The more we utilize that connection, the easier guidance will come to us, creating less and less friction in its journey to you.
Here’s to the next right step on your journey!