This isn't some thought exercise that I am blathering on about here, this is the real world where the pavement hits the road or where there is a bush in my bird. To be clear, look at the photograph that I have added along with this post. It shows a huge mountain of topsoil that, for some crazy reason, I had delivered to my house and for which I paid good money. If you have discerning eyes and are not some kind of cretin, you should be able to see me sitting atop my mountain. I have zoomed in using close-up mode in the inset on the right. Yep, that's me sporting the crash helmet and the white velour jump suit. A mountain by its very definition.
Somehow, someway, I have set myself up to move this dirt to various areas of my yard that have been plagued by erosion. Yep, erosion, the geological process that normally takes millennia to affect the landscape, has somehow happened in a few-year time span in my yard and demands my attention. I have been cautioned by several local contractors that my house is in very real danger of falling into a giant sink hole that might ultimately take out the entire sub-division. I don't have to tell you that I am moist with fret. Please hold me!
But as I prepared for this post, I realized that there is an important Chinese proverb that I can share with you as you face whatever mountain stands before you in your life. Who knows, maybe this will somehow ease your burden and your anxiety to some small degree. A journey of a thousand miles begins with but one step. Sure, when we face our mountains, our first few steps nearly always seem tentative, pointless, ineffectual. However, after a short time, if you stay at it, you are nearly certain to be able to recognize some progress. Let this spur you into taking that next step, moving another wheelbarrow full of dirt, dealing with life another day.
