19 April 2020

bushwhacking

Many of my closest friends know that turning back is rarely an option for me. When I decide to do something I have prayed, analysed, prepared (but not planned--I like to keep my options open), and thought quite a bit before I jump. But sometimes (often?) a key component of my decision is based on intuition. I know, sense, that this is the way to go. Yes, I have some facts to back it up, mostly.
[This reminds me of a time I won a game of Clue on the second round--I knew the answer but my reasoning (while proven true) was so unsubstantiated that one of the players refused to ever play with me again. But I digress...]
Anyway, I don't like to reverse. Jump ship, change course, perhaps. Likely. But go back? No. It's not that I've burnt bridges--in the area of employment for example I've returned to a previous employer in four different instances. It's more of an adventurous there's-more-to-explore attitude. I want to find a new path, a new way of doing things. Pioneer and all that. Once I've mastered it it becomes stale (which is probably why I was never fitted for accounting long term).
Speaking of paths those closest friends I mentioned can also tell you that if you hike with me and let me choose the route I won't get you lost...eventually...but there will likely be some bushwhacking involved. My sense of direction, inherited from my beloved geographer father, is pretty good but sometimes the people who make paths neglect to connect them or put them where I feel they should go. One time I ended up with two friends outside LA climbing an almost vertical hill to get to another path (because we had taken the wrong turn and, well, I don't go back when the goal is so close). Not one of my brighter moments as the little jack russell still had stitches...but fortunately he emerged unscathed and uninfected. In Bangkok I almost got attacked by a pack of wild dogs when I left the touristy area. Another time some blackberries were involved...
Leaving the well-traveled trail is never the safest route. You might get a few scratches. Maybe you could have got there another way. But that's not my story. The best stories lie outside of the mainstream and the courageous few get to tell them. And I do love a good story...

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