The Next Step

Writing is like driving at night. You cannot see beyond your headlights…but you can make the whole trip that way. - E.L. Doctorow

Sometimes, you can see your goal and everything between here and there. You can see where the path twists and turns. You can see the roadblocks ahead and prepare for them. You can slow down at the bumpy parts and speed up on the straight areas.

And then night falls.

Night can be exhaustion (and is usually accompanied by exhaustion). It can be a more urgent priority (sick kid, sick parent, sick yourself, car accident, house fire, etc.). It can be an unexpected obstacle (the local college doesn’t offer that degree, you get fired, the program you’d signed up for gets cancelled, something goes out of business, etc.). It can be confusion (I thought I’d know what to do once I got to this point).

Night is the time when you know what your Future looks like, but you just can’t see how to get there from here.

But night doesn’t last, unless you sit on your butt and give up. If you choose to stay in the night, then night will stay with you. But if you continue on, the dawn will come, and things will be clear again.

Take care of the emergency (just be sure to set boundaries and take care of yourself at the same time!). Figure out another way around the obstacle. Do some more research, if you’re confused. Keep alert to possibilities and options. They’re all around us. Read the newspapers and the signs at the library. Check out the books on your subject; perhaps they’ll have an idea you hadn’t thought of before. Talk to supportive people about your dream (and keep it defended against negative people); they may know someone or something you don’t. Night time is when our bodies rest and prepare themselves for the coming day. Use your night to figure out the next step and prepare to take it once you can.