I like to wander. As my photography website indicates (WanderingPixels.com) I am fond of the idea that wandering is an acceptable form of travel planning when you are comfortable not always knowing where you might end up or what will unfold as the day progresses.

Wandering through the woods not too long ago, I glanced down to find an unexpected object suggesting where to go next; a distinct arrow pointing me onward. It’s always nice to get helpful suggestions for finding our way and having one pop up in front of me seemed like a good sign, so I followed the arrow as directed.

I’d like to say that it led me to the place that answers all of life’s questions or maybe tell you that I followed this small arrow and found a pot of gold or a big bag of money.  I could create a post that went viral and I would become famous as the guy who got rich by following a wet leaf.

Of course, real life tends to be less dramatic most of the time. Not all of the time; but this time all it did was lead me forward.

Over a hill and around a bend to a photo opportunity that I was happy to take part of and share:

We all search at one time or another, for direction in our life. We want to find our reason for living and determine that one special thing that we have a passion to complete while on earth.

This search for direction and purpose can lead to some interesting things to consider.

What do true Athiest’s use as an explanation for their purpose and existence? It would seem logical to me that if you are in the group that believes we developed as a chance happening from a cosmic goo, then our existence can only be considered accidental and therefore there is no eternal purpose for our being present on this earth. We change oxygen into carbon dioxide and warm water and occupy space until our carbon beings deteriorate back to the molecular structure of a useless mass only fertilizing the ground around us. That seems a bit sad to me as only existing and having no actual purpose for being.

For the rest of us, we assume that some Higher Power is the source of our existence and as a result, we are here with a specific purpose; and so we spend countless hours trying desperately to find out what that might be. Some of us are fortunate to say we’ve found our purpose in life and we can move in the direction we need with efficiency and feel fulfilled in our daily tasks.

Many of us continue to search for that elusive feeling of contentment in our quest for direction.

I would love to provide the answer here and ask just the right questions or make just the right statements so we can read through this post and exclaim that all is right with the world.

What a great thing to do; create the blog post that everyone comes to read and exclaim that it fills the void or provides the closure or maybe sends the message that confirms the dreams we’ve had and give a foundation for our tomorrows. Going viral would be incredible.

Of course, I can’t.

I’m on the same journey and it’s a struggle some days. I promise to share what I can when tiny bits of wisdom creep into my foggy brain. I ask for you to do the same. There is safety in numbers.

I do know that sitting still removes the danger of moving in the wrong direction.  It keeps us from making mistakes or failing.

But when we sit still and do nothing new; the scenery never changes either.

And that gets really boring. Life isn’t meant to be boring. It’s meant to be a journey.

Life seems to prompt us to change our scenery, and we can only do that by moving, standing, turning, or looking in a different direction and changing our perspective. Keep trying something new. Don’t settle. Don’t give in. Don’t get comfortable.

When life stagnates, look around. Prompts for new direction can be found in the smallest and most unexpected places.

We need to keep moving; otherwise, the direction we face doesn’t matter and our purpose for being will remain a mystery. Right?