The Illusion of Going Somewhere

I’ve just finished (a picnic) dinner in the garden. When I looked up I noticed this little fellow heading from left to right across the lawn. I thought to myself ‘I wonder where he’s heading’.

A few minutes later I looked up from my book to notice that he’s heading in the other direction. ‘That’s strange,’ I think to myself, ‘he’s not going to get far like that’.

It was then that I realised that he wasn’t going anywhere. He lives there. He’s just doing the equivalent of moseying around in his back garden. Just like me.

It’s odd how, up until this point, when I see people and other kinds of critters, I always assume that they’re on their way somewhere important. But are they really?

Seems to me that we’re more often than not busy going around in circles.

There’s an app called Google Maps on my phone with a feature called Timeline (Your timeline), which plots, on a map where I travel on a daily basis.

I’m sorry to have to break this to you, but most of our journeys (including mine) very much resemble that of my friendly neighbourhood slug.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Not really.

Because life is all about cycles and circles. Sunrise, sunset; empty, full; dirty, clean; birth and death – it’s all circular and cyclical.

So don’t be upset if it seems like you’re going nowhere because, in the grand scheme of things – that’s probably precisely what you’re meant to be doing. I guess the trick is to make sure that you pack as much fun as possible into it while you’re doing it.

As I finish this piece, the sun has dipped out of the sky and Mr Critter has vanished from view. And I’m shortly going to do the same.

Have a wonderful evening everyone. See you tomorrow. Have fun!

(and there’s a blackbird singing sweetly as I type these words)