Signals and voices

You ever feel that life is telling you to do something? That signs appear telling you to take a chance and accomplish a dream that you've held onto for a long time? That message hit me today when I least expected it.

Actually, I believe I've been seeing these signs more often lately. It's a constant yet subtle voice pushing me towards a certain path. An inner compass of sorts directing me towards a road I've always wanted to travel but for whatever reason I haven't. Every time I hear it, I feel the onset of an adrenaline rush. Maybe this voice has been speaking all along, I've just recently began paying more attention to it.

It's just that today, that voice seemed to be shouting at me. Revealing the elusive obvious. "If you ever want to reach this goal, chase it down now, not later." Now, its midnight and my mind is racing. Fireflies appear and I have to catch them now or watch them drift off into the dark. Again, the phrase "now or never" comes up.

Yeah, I know it's a lot of metaphors. But then again, this really happened to me. I know I'm not a lunatic but sometimes life insists on a crazy risk. I understand this may all seem a little cryptic to you but I've decided to keep this vague. At least for now. I'll explain it a different way.

Imagine you're a writer. Maybe you have a newspaper column or you write book reviews. You're good at what you do and you get paid well to do it. You enjoy your job and practice your craft to get better. This is the path you're on; the one you have prepared for.

Of course, like anyone else, you enjoy other activities. On weekends you like to go hiking. It's your hobby, it's your thing. You're pretty knowledgeable about the outdoors and know good hiking spots.

One day you're driving from work. A large semi passes you on the freeway and on its side is an advertisement that catches your eye. But it's not the product you pay attention to; the advertisement is a photo capturing a giant rock face rising up out of the woods. It's bold and majestic and it's staring at you right in the face. You know, because it's on the side of a large semi. You think about that picture the rest of the day. Because you want to be a rock climber.

This is a desire you've held for a long time, you realize. In fact, you've done it once before and wanted to do it again. You realize that your hikes have provided great views of impressive rock walls towering above the land. You also remember that rock climbing in general has seeped into your writing for some time now. The words "mountain", "challenge", "adventure", and others related to rock climbing have appeared in your articles.

The hiking has been a subconscious attempt to get you closer to your goal of being a rock climber. In fact, you now have a stronger desire to be a professional rock climber. Despite the fact that it would be a radical career change and something that you are not sure you are quite prepared for, you want to do it.

Now we arrive to the point where the path splits into two. On one side you have the path you know and understand continuing on. It's familiar and you can kind of see where it goes. It feels safe. Choosing this path would be perfectly acceptable.

On the other side you have a different path altogether. You don't know where it leads to. You don't feel ready to head in there. Strange yet amazing things can just barely be glimpsed further down this path. It's a little reminder of a place you've always wanted to go to. "What if?" It's enticing but seems to be a somewhat dangerous road. Still, it sounds like a fun risk.

I suppose everyone goes through this feeling as well. Perhaps more than once. It's as if the cosmos are aligning to direct your compass. But how many people do we know actually follow this guide? I want to know whats down the second path.

The image up top comes from this Wikipedia article.