Jul
A Sense of Direction
Life is not made for coasting. If you float along with the current, you end up wherever it takes you. The idea of Life is to plot your own course. For that, you need a sense of direction.
Today I saw the antics of a family of lumps. The mother of this brood is a mindless trailer-park queen who looks ten years older than her actual age. He husband is a few years younger than her. He is stepfather to her sons, a clump of obese young men whose conversation is mind-numbing. What struck me was their aimlessness. It is as if they had left their “souls” unmanned.
I was appalled at the lumpy fellows. One had just about completed high school, but quit because he did not like one teacher. His claim to fame was taking simple jobs and quitting after one day. He is like a hippopotamus in search of an excuse.
The event was the first birthday of a child. One of these lumps is the child’s father. Instead of participating, he sat in the corner making small talk with his lumpy brothers, satchel-assed stepfather, mindless mother and freeloading friends. To even get him close to the baby while she had cake, several guests had to cajole him. This mindless lump could not wait to leave the party so he could hang out with his brothers and friends.
He seemed to forget that his wife was busy with the baby. He certainly ignored most of the event and barely spent time with his daughter.
The problem with the lumpy family was a lack of direction. Their mother was the type who thought her little boys could do no wrong. The stepfather was too busy being “one of the guys” to offer any guidance. Nobody had ever given the boys any real direction. Equally appalling is that the lumps felt no inspiration to seek it on their own.
The only notable thing any of these lumps did was to break a chair by sitting on it the wrong way.
I was asked my opinion of the lumps. That is easy. They lack direction. They have nobody to give it to them, and they cannot drum up enough incentive to get it for themselves. The lumps have no aims in life. That is appalling, especially since one of them is a father.
Sometimes you do not appreciate a thing until you are confronted with the consequences of its absence.
Everyone needs a sense of direction. We need to be going somewhere. Aimlessness is a waste of life. Direction can come from without or within. It can be provided by a parent, a conscientious teacher or other mentor. Direction can come from a role model, a desire to excel, or a personal goal. The important thing is to choose a course rather than to coast on the waves.
I know hard it can be. I grew up in a household whose only direction was to placate the parents. They offered no guidance, their excuse being, “He will figure it out for himself.” I had to find my own sense of direction exclusive of them. My inspiration came from historical persons. Some of my choices were good, some were not. Nonetheless, having examples provided direction.
A sense of direction is simple. It is a way to go, a goal to achieve, a path to take, a thing to do. You can get it from others or find it yourself. You can also give others a sense of direction. If you work as a parent, teacher, mentor or role model, you can be instrumental in helping a person gain his sense of direction. You have to power to guide another to have a life that makes a difference. The only catch is that he has to be willing to accept your help.
