Written by Richard Anderson
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30 January 2010
How do we change who we are if we aren't happy? How do we change the course we're heading on if it's destructive? How do we know if the course is destructive in the long term? How do we know which of the people around us are positive influences, and which of them are negative?
These are questions I know many of us have looked at before, even if only for a brief, entertaining moment. They are questions that define where our feet will land next, and in turn they define the footprint we leave on peoples lives.
Sometimes we take a wrong turn. Sometimes we don't realise it was wrong until we're already too far in. And sometimes we doubt ourselves even after realising it was wrong, still walking down that path, hoping that we'll see something that will reassure us in the end.
Along this path, we'll meet other people for moments of our overall journey. Each person ultimatly trying to reach a different destination, but paths inevitably cross. When they do, we get to share some of our own journey with other people. Some more pleasant than others, but we learn from thier experiences, and whether we like it or not, those people rub off on us. They influence us, and change who we are. Sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad. When they leave, for whatever reason, we feel like we lose a part of ourselves, even though thier footprint will forever be a part of you.
Ultimatly we choose our own paths, and we must live with the consequences of the steps we take, even if we do find the courage to turn around at times. If we make a mistake with the people we meet along the way, that mistake may have further reaching consequences that are harder to turn from. Do we try to turn around and take a different path? How far back do we have to walk before you undo any damage you may have caused? When do you get to a point where you give up turning around? When you decide that it's easier to just keep going forward and hope that somewhere down the road a new path will show up.
Sometimes, for some people, it's worth turning around, regardless of how far you've gone. It's worth fixing so that you can share your journey's once more, and hopefully in doing so, you both become better people, with a more interesting journey.
So I'm turning around, and i kinda hope he's still back there somewhere...
