Tail Feathers in the Air

Forget the polished version of ambition. The real pursuit is awkward and relentlessly humbling. Grit and determination is crucial when dignity is the first thing on the line.

Not quite glamorous to have your tail feathers up in the air while your head and upper body are completely submerged, but I can relate to the feeling.

What you are aiming for is in the most inconvenient of places, and so you accept the reality of how this is going to look and go for it (tail feathers be damned). Or you swim around the matter hoping it will somehow seek you out (creating ripples from your watery pacing). Or you elect to leave, thinking hope has no place here and you wish to leave your dignity intact (paddling away as fast as webbed feet can carry you).

All valid options really. Go all in, delay and hope for the best, or give up.

Goals and aspirations are such pretty things but the path to them is often anything but. The world abounds in discussions about defining the goal and how your life will be so much better if you just attain the, well, whatever the “thing” is.

The parts that are left out: how to know what you don’t know, self-doubt, making mistakes  and sometimes big ones, learning resilience, developing discernment, realizing not everyone has your best interests at heart, being flexible when plans A, B, and C don’t pan out, and of course, managing obligations in the midst of everything.

Reality is not glamorous and it’s also never easy. Society celebrates the beginning and the end of the journey but often skips over the part in-between. Being entirely truthful, who you are in the beginning is not who you are at the conclusion. The passage between identification and attainment is so fraught it changes you in ways that never could have been imagined.

It is the middle that will test you mentally, emotionally and physically. You will be tested in ways that you were not prepared for, even for the most diligent planner. Messengers of hard truths will arise, and it is to your detriment if you dismiss them out of hand. Wisdom comes from unexpected places and people; listen even if your inner self struggles to accept what is being relayed.

There is a phrase, “You can’t get there from here.” On the surface, that can easily be taken as a naysayer, someone who doesn’t see your vision or think you capable. Dig a little deeper and you understand the meaning. You can get there, but it requires extensive, complicated directions…in other words, the journey is intense and not for the faint of heart. Be forewarned.

Dreams and goals are intrinsic to being human. Attainment is born of grit and determination.

Those that tsk-tsk as you do what it takes—they are not the ones you should concern yourself with.

Seize the day. In all the awkward, clumsy, focused, and tail feathers in the air kind of ways.