The Sands of Your Destiny

The Little Things You May Overlook That Shape Your Future

“Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime And departing leave behind us footprints on the sands of time”. -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Feels like just another day, doesn’t it?

Same routines. Same annoying traffic patterns. Same cubicle.

The same old “same old”.

Kinda boring. No. It’s mighty boring.

Wish there was some way to get out of the rat race.

But it is inside this damn rat race that you eke out what you need to feed your family and keep a roof over their heads.

You work hard so they can have more of the things you never had growing up.

You go to work so they can go to school so that later they will be able to get a good job so their children…

Oh my God! What? So this endless cycle can continue?

Is there no end to this stupid, vicious, unending cycle?

In any case, if you could change all this, wouldn’t you be just trading “poor” troubles for “rich” ones? A lot of those rich people are miserable. Aren’t they?

But you’re wondering if there is anything in your life right now that is useful to the “better You”. What trait of greatness do I have inside me now? Anything?

Been a long time since you ever even dared to think like this, hasn’t it? Shows how deeply entrenched in the system you’ve been.

You Have Been Taking Yourself For Granted

You still go out to the lousy job, every day, and keep up with the dratted routine, reliably.

You’ve disciplined yourself to keep doing the same old activities that earn you a paycheck, even though sometimes you swear to yourself that they are just a waste of time.

Well, what about those other little things you do on the side? Things related to your dream, not your job. Those things that you will not see a reward for, any time soon. Those things that make such small progress, that little step that barely moves the needle. Something inside you screams, What are you doing that for? Don’t you see it doesn’t even make sense?

And you’re tempted to believe that devilish voice.

But you still do those important things. Not as much as you like, but you do. Disciplined soul that you are.

These are your Sands of Destiny.

We all agree no one can avoid routines. And we don’t usually try to get out of them. Most of our lives are made up of routines and habits.

We never have a problem with routines and habits. Until it’s time to break one habit and develop a new one.

Our habits serve us and make our lives happy and comfortable. They have become such a part of us that we take them for granted.

But since good habits make us good people, and our good intentions drive us to want to get rid of our vices, it is an expensive oversight that neglects to see the little things that indeed make one’s life truly successful.

So First, you need to acknowledge the fact that there are areas in your life where you are successful.

The ordinary person (like you, Reader, and me) instinctively thinks that that last statement does not refer to him or her. Most people don’t regard themselves as “successful”.

Things like holding a job (sometimes for years), raising children, providing for a family, maintaining relationships — sometimes juggling relationships, supporting neighbors, extended family as well as charities and strangers with your goodwill — do not chalk up success. They are all taken for granted!

But these precious little routines to which you have been faithful for years are the jewels that construct the castle of destiny that is your life.

By itself, each little habit may not have much significance. Like the strikes of a hammer that eventually break a rock.

One writer pointed out that in the breaking of a rock, it is neither the first strike nor the last that broke that rock in twain (forgive the Old English). Rather, it was every-single-one-of-hundreds-and-thousands-of-strikes.

All of those strikes, together, in total. Because if you removed strike #1587 from the middle of the pounding hammer’s workday, the rock would remain solid. Until that strike has been executed.

Too often we define our lives (and the success thereof) by the one thing we lack. Ignoring so much greatness we possess. The fervor of newness is now forgotten because our greatness has become routine and commonplace.

Push The Rock

There is a story told by Wade Martin Hughes Sr. of a man who was told by God in a dream to push a big rock that lay at the door of his cabin.

Day after day he faithfully pushed on the rock sunup to sundown. Days rolled into weeks. And when months had passed with no apparent progress, his tiredness caused him to doubt his dream. The rock was still in the same place. After all those months of long rock-pushing days.

After 9 months, the man sat on his porch discouraged, saying to God, “It doesn’t make sense. I’ve been pushing this rock as you told me, and after all this time and effort, nothing has changed. The rock is still there.”

Jesus came and sat down beside him. He then led him to the mirror and said, “Look at yourself. Have you noticed how you have developed? Your once scrawny, weak frame has become a strong muscular structure. You have become much healthier since you began this exercise. I told you to push the rock. Because I have a plan for what you would become by being obedient.

“Now I will move the rock.”

The man realized at that time that God’s plan was not for the rock, but the Man.

The Greatness Of Ordinary

Are you loyally punctual?

Are you a reliable worker? One who never misses work?

Do many people find that you are the best person to turn to in a crisis?

Have you created a routine for yourself and your family that has been working, for the most part?

Don’t you get most of your weekly tasks done?

Answering even one of these questions in the affirmative means there is a lot about you that deserves to be celebrated! You have much to be thankful for!

Despite that major dream or goal that still eludes you. You have proven that you do come through when it matters. In the ordinary, mundane, run-of-the-mill everyday operations that prevent life in the civilized world from exploding into chaos.

Let’s face it. Talk about everyday ordinary. There are over 45,000 flights on a typical day in the United States. Without a single plane crash. Hundreds of pilots, engineers, air traffic controllers, ground crew, baggage handlers, cleaning crew, and thousands of other workers went about their ordinary everyday functions. Without thanks or applause. Nobody even noticed.

But this day was a huge success for the Federal Aviation Administration. And for all of us. Of the over 5400 aircrafts in the sky at peak operational times — 100% of them were safe. Faceless 1000’s (I’m sure you know at least one of them) did their jobs and not a single accident was reported.

But that great result made no headlines anywhere in this world.

You (and I) have fallen into that same routine. Of not valuing yourself.

Those little tasks and things you faithfully do are the sands with which you build the castle of your destiny.

It is time to acknowledge and appreciate these valuable and unnoticed contributions each individual of us makes to Life. With the mortar of Gratitude, it is time to mold these precious sand crystals into the Castles our dream destinies demand.