About ten years ago my husband and I were traveling across the US. We drove from Oregon to Georgia, and yes at the end we were still speaking to each other. We had a few places we wanted to see along the way, one way Joshua Tree. We wanted to see ‘the’ oldest tree in the northern hemisphere. So we drove and drove and drove and drove and drove, until we were lost. We finally found a building, sort of a gas station watering hole type place, so we stopped to ask directions. We asked the woman behind the counter where we would find Joshua Tree, and she looked at us funny. She said you are already there. We were smack dab in the middle of four thousand acres surrounded by Joshua trees. We had a good laugh when we got back into the car, and it has become a family story ever since.
Today I was riding our exercise bike that lets you take scenic rides, and I spent thirty five minutes huffing and puffing as I enjoyed riding through Joshua Tree National Park. The scenery made me think of that fateful trip and how we laughed that we were surrounded by what we were looking for.
Isn’t that just like success? You work so hard, stay so focused and make decisions to diligently reach your destination, when in reality you are already there. If you are healthy, have people who love you, have something to do and people to serve, then you are already successful. No amount of money or prestige, no organizational title or bank balance can take the place of what you have now. All too often we get so focused on getting there that we forget to really look up and ‘see’ that it isn’t about ‘the’ tree, or the title, or the address, or the accomplishments; success is all around you. We just have to stop and recognize it, or in our case have someone remind you that you are already there.
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