Ostomy Memories of Progress

THERE IS A ROUTE THAT I SOMETIMES WALK where, at a certain point, I am getting closer to home even though it seems as if I’m getting further away.  I’m making progress, though it doesn’t seem that way at first.  Progress can be an illusion as well.  I once had a co-worker who was always busy, but never seemed to be accomplishing anything.  He was spinning like a top, treading water in one spot, never getting anywhere.  Progress happens when you move away from the status quo, but you don’t want to overdo it.  Not doing enough may result in too much status and not enough quo.  Going overboard may be more quo than status can reasonably handle.  You just have to pay attention.  Sometimes, as Kurt Vonnegut wrote, “a step backward, after making a wrong turn, is a step in the right direction.”  And direction is key.  Like a sailor in the wind, tacking or coming about is a sailing maneuver by which a sailing craft, whose next destination is into the wind, turns its bow toward and through the wind so that the direction from which the wind blows changes from one side of the boat to the other, allowing progress in the desired direction.  Life is chock full of sailing maneuvers.  

Hello HenryM.
Thank you for this reminder of a very relevant concept for living a ‘balanced’ life.

Concerning writing, I have found that deliberately stopping and concentrating on something completely different for a while creates the condition of renewed energy ideas and enthusiasm for when I return to the writing activity.

Best wishes

Bill