Wisdom for the Journey

" A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."
                                                                                 ~  Chinese Proverb

As I crawled into bed early this morning (old habits die hard) I thought back to my day to assess any progress I might have made.  1:30am is not very conducive to clear thinking.  Not to mention that, at an earlier bedtime, chronicling those "daily victories" for the sake of encouragement would not impress itself as such a daunting task.  *Note to self:  Reasonable bedtime essential to all other elements of the journey I deem important for success.*

Journaling has been an activity I have enjoyed, in one form or another, for as long as I can remember.  A "sociologist" at heart I deem every person's life a treasure trove of buried interest, insight and wisdom.  Typically unappreciated until time has given us more depth and perspective, I find life-journaling to be a gift to future generations.  My hope is that the patchwork of my personal life-journal may one day serve as a glimpse into the person my children and grandchildren didn't realize even existed.

Future generations weren't quite what I had in mind as I contemplated whether or not I would have the energy to list my perceived successes for the day.  It didn't take long to convince myself that I needed my sleep and that listing my victories would have to wait until 'later in the day'.

There was absolutely no conflict as to whether my day was done but...a nagging thought lingered.  Am I really committed to the chronicling of each day's success?  Or will I fall into "good intentions" but deprive myself of a valuable fuel for my quest?  Knowing myself as I do I had to concede that the latter was the most likely scenario.  Patchwork is an honest assessment of my "collection of days"; definitely not a complete portrait of my life but pretty in it's own unique way.

But the journey I am now committed to taking calls for diligence and the need to utilize the useful tools available to reach the destination I so badly desire. 'Success' is a personal matter, individually defined.    Easily akin to a 'journey of a thousand miles' each step, regardless of how small, deserves to be noted.

So, today I Commit to applauding even my smallest accomplishments and honor myself with a daily chronicle of my definition of success.