Trails in the Snow

Have you ever tried following in someone else’s footsteps through the snow, only to find that the footprints have a different shoe size, that the stride does not match your own or to find that the trail you choose to take leads a little to the left or right of the already existing path?  This will most likely be a similar experience we will all have during this year’s journey in the Year of the Dog.

Although we may all start off in relatively the same spot with similar year end goals in mind, we will each have our own way of getting there that will be individual and very personal and will not fit in anyone else’s mould.  There will be lessons and experiences along each individual path that will help build and determine our own end result.  We may go a little backwards with an injury, or sniff a rabbit that leads us in a direction going right into the bush or maybe it will be a hard left in an effort to help a friend who is struggling and lost, each step leading us forward in one way or another. 

Along the road you may even come across those, who with a lack of understanding will doubt, question or even discourage you.  It’s in these moments we may need to remind ourselves of our goals. We may even have to be a little selfish in making choices that look after us first, with the clear understanding that when we take care of us, we will be better equipped to help and take care of others.

It is so important that we each show patience and respect for each journey for the simple fact that until we walk in someone else’s shoes, we will not completely understand the reasons their trail led in the direction it did.

Alana Regier