I have drawn this same landscape for over 20 years now...I have never really not known why until now. The words on the sign have changed over time, but the picture as a framework has been consistent over time.
It is like a "system", with individual components when integrated make it "whole". There is context here...a background, a foreground, a beginning, middle and an end, a path, a direction, guidance, yes, one might say it conveys a vision of a journey. The journey looks like it may take some time... not so long, but also not traveled in one day either. One can see the end...I call it "The Long View."
I am not sure I completely understand what "Good stuff ahead" really means. Despite being the one who wrote those words, I can't say that I know. But I really liked it when those words came to me. Either the romantic idealist in me or just simple truth. Good things are up ahead.
Does it seem like to you that the world has just gone completely crazy in the past 5 - 7 years....? Although I have seen the declining decay for decades, someone flipped the switch that has turned everything upside down. I do not even understand what I see, hear or read anymore.... It is unbelievable. Right is wrong, wrong is right, definitions are completely changing and it is happening literally before my eyes. I have felt fear and even panic sometimes...every day the world seems to escalate more towards hatred.
Never has the long view seemed so clear as now..... My little cute dumb picture has been a silent template in my mind that has kept me looking long... not short. It has stretched my view... helped me me see further, higher beyond the rocks and potholes in the road. It has kept my eyes lifted up, pointing higher, sometimes squinting to see what I can see.... There is something up there, I can't quite draw it, but it seems right. It feels right too.
There is something in the simplicity of the one sign, the one path, the one sun, the one horizon, the one direction. The more I gaze and reflect the more I realize I don't need more than that. Can I be content with just what is there? Will that be enough to get me through? Strangely, I believe the answer is "yes", it is enough for me. The answer that has been forming in my heart and mind recently is that I need to stay simpler. For a guy who likes to over analyze and keep things complicated it is saying something. For the first time in my life, I want to be simpler. I think it is the only way through this journey for me. Simple faith, simple hope, simple love and less clutter in the living room of my brain.
Maybe the only question I need to ask each day is: "Is this decision today going to help me in the long run?" or "How will I feel 10 years down the line if I make this choice today?" Would these be enough to steer me clear of the landmines just ahead of me?
I like the puffy clouds, I like the shadowy mountains but mostly I like this little star guy...... with his little hat and little smile. He has worn these two things for all of his existence. The brim of his hat pointing forever forward.... his knowing smile because he either sees or knows something about the future. I like that...... I never knew this until now but am so grateful because I needed to know what he has always known.... to look for the long view, cause apparently....... there is good stuff ahead!
I wonder what your long view looks like? I wish you well on our journey.....
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