t's fascinating to think about the forks in your life. I've done this a few times and I can pick out a handful of crucial events that sent my life down a path that could have been very different. While I spend most of my time trying to make the best decisions right now, it is fascinating to think about those key moments.

Looking back, it feels like your past is bathed in sunlight. You can see the forks, what they meant and how they shaped your life. That time you decided to go to college instead of enlisting. It wasn’t college that was important but the job you had to get that year. It wasn’t the job that mattered but rather that it would lead to the most important relationships in your life. Wait, each one of those steps mattered. What if you sign those papers at that dining room table at 17? What path does that take you down? No regrets, just reflection. Fascinating.

Looking Ahead

The sun comes up behind us, and that path you walked is clear while showing you just enough of what's coming so you don’t wander off a cliff. Yet, not enough to know your destination. You have to slow down enough to see the path ahead and things for what they are. That’s a tree, not a monster.

Nothing in life is to be feared, only understood. - Marie Curie

Life is filled with many things to experience, learn, and love. It’s also filled with so many other people doing the best they can too. You aren’t alone. If you are absolute about where you are going, you won’t end up where you should. Life is meant to be unclear and that is beautiful if you let it. Embrace each step. Each leaf. Each branch. Each lesson.

Life is hard, most good things are. It means you might fall. Sometimes the pain will be unbearable. Nothing is permanent, and you can choose any path you want. Go straight, turn around, or decide to take a hard right. Maybe go back and find the last place that made sense. Whatever you do, keep moving, and don’t be afraid to lean on someone. One step at a time. And the next, and the next, and the next.

We are all just making it up as we go and stumbling in the dark. Keep learning, loving, and leaning. We are doing it together and that's what makes this journey wonderful.

‍Keep stumbling, we all are. Onward.

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I will leave you with a few thoughts from others

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Slowly but surely, we learned there was nothing new under the sun: properly informed, we weren’t victims—we could always create options. - General Mattis

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It’s hard to know when the lesson is to persist and when the lesson is to let it go. - Boyd Varty

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Don’t let your ego get in the way of making the best possible decision. - Bob Iger

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A Moment

We didn't plan this day, but ended up right where we should.