orienteering

growth. forward progress. the many ways we may want our “now” to be different, moving from our current “x” to some [more] ideal “y”, all involve navigating a path.

traversing a space, or gap.

and we can be the most motivated, action-biased person, but without proper orientation - we will speed stumble our way in the completely wrong direction.

orientation takes into account current location and directionality.

it’s staring at the map on the wall, finding the red-starred “you are here”, and then determining what is north and south, left and right.

current location alone won’t serve much help because i could start off in what i decide is “north” and end up further from my intended goal.

direction alone won’t work either. just heading “2 hours east” will find me in very different destinations from seattle and from cape town.

complete orientation is the necessary grounding before forward progress can occur.

so the process starts with presence.

the self-awareness of knowing where you are, where you’ve come from, and defining where you’re going.

then there’s posture.
knowing what’s down and what’s up.
knowing what’s forward and what’s backwards.

orientation of identity.
properly placed? properly defined? properly rooted?

in my pursuit of growth, of endurance, of peaking performance, of more, the pause for orienting is necessary.

because posture matters - forward only works if you know where you are and you’re pointed properly.

what if i stepped into today believing i was in the right place, at the right time, with the right direction and tools needed for my next single step?

isaiah 37:31

The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward.

prov. 16:9

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.

colossians 2:6,7 msg

My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.