Want to Move Forward? Do So in a Cone of Clarity.
A few years ago I made a very arbitrary decision to move from Los Angeles, up to the mountains of Crestline, CA. For those of you who are unfamiliar, you’ve probably seen pictures of nearby Lake Arrowhead, CA. Their glorious, picturesque mountain ranges are featured on Arrowhead Water bottles.
Crestline is like Lake Arrowhead’s younger, rebellious, always drunk sister. She’s facing her second DUI charge and thinks Mac’ N’ Cheese with cut up hot dogs is a protein-packed meal. They both exist on the same mountain and contain the same DNA, but one of them got more love from their father.
I had many difficulties adjusting to mountain life. Dense fog being the most challenging to deal with. I would look out my window and see… nothing.
Being a “flatlander” I had no experience driving in intense fog. Ever. I had no choice but to learn. I’d get in the car, my electronic Prius key trembling in my sweaty palm, and I’d roll about 5 mph all the way to wherever I headed.
Pursuing creative endeavors can sometimes feel like driving through the densest, scariest fog.
We’ll plug our creative destination in our GPS, ready to go, and when we look up, we can’t see in front of our own face. Our vision is completely clouded up. Fog filling the surrounding air. It’s as if we’re consumed by it.
Our GPS gleams, waiting to direct us to turn right 1.2 miles ahead. Our destination awaits our arrival, but this fog isn’t letting up, and we have no idea when it will.
It’s scary to move forward in the fog.
It’s scary to operate a piece of heavy machinery (your dreams and desires) through a terrifying cloud on crack (fog).
What if you veer off the mountain and fall to your death? What if you run off the road only to get stuck in a ravine? What if (this terrifying scenario happens)… what if (this other terrifying scenario happens)… Ok, yep, it’s decided. We will just stay home. Tucked in front of the fireplace dreaming about our long-awaited destination.
We will work towards getting there someday, but today is not today.
We’ll retire our hands from the keyboard and get distracted with Instagram and Netflix.
Every time I drove in the fog… I made it to my destination. A lot slower than I wanted to, and I was scared shitless the entire time, but I made it.
You have some visibility in the fog, even if it’s not a lot.
If you’re slowly driving down a street in the fog… you will eventually make it to the end of the street. Because you are always surrounded by a cone of clarity.
The cone of clarity always lets you move forward, even if it’s at a snail’s pace.
It might take you 10x longer to get to your destination, but you will still get there. You’ll get there faster than any person curled up in a safe ball waiting for the fog to pass… wondering if it ever will.
Driving through the fog can be scary and frustrating. It’ll test your patience. You’ll want to get there faster. And you’ll know if this damn fog wasn’t there, that would be possible. Or you’ll want to stop because of how scary it can be, at every turn you’re wondering if your death awaits you.
But you’ll keep moving. Inch by inch, foot by foot. Always surrounded by your cone of clarity, always moving forward.
If you keep moving forward… so does your cone of clarity. It always allows you to see a little bit farther ahead of where you were.
Sometimes we artists have a hard time taking action because we can’t see the full picture. We can’t see the full map of our journey. We don’t know what turns to take, or if we should walk left or right at the fork in the road. Or maybe we have the map, but the weather outside makes the journey treacherous.
You will always be able to see right in front of you. You will always have a little bit of visibility. The only way to move forward is to keep moving forward.
Embrace the fear of being unable to see far ahead and know that always being able to see right in front of you is enough to take the next step.
We don’t have to have all the steps, we just have to have the next one
You’re always surrounded by a cone of clarity. You always have the ability to move forward. It doesn’t matter at what pace you go. You reach your destination step by step.
Sure, you could get there faster if there wasn’t fog. But there’s no guarantee the fog will ever dissipate. You’ll get there faster than all those who waited for the fog to pass.
Every step you move forward, your cone of clarity moves with you.
Every step you take, you’re one step closer to your destination.
Never wait for the fog to pass, there’s no guarantee it ever will.
Read on…
Maddie is a writer + voice-over artist. She’s a soon-to-be certified life coach through the JRNI program. Self-declared boxed wine aficionado. She’d love to hear all your thoughts at [email protected]
