on that path

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." -Aristotle


so i was talking to one of my good buddies tonight about life. not so much about the living of life, but more about the developing along the way. this actual conversation began with a pretty bold disclaimer, as i said to him, "hey man, i'm not gonna ask permission to ask you a pretty personal question because you're one of my closest buddies, so i'm just gonna give you a heads up." and when most people would begin to fret, my friend simply replied, "alright, shoot." well we talked for a while and the question came up about how things are going and my buddy gave the most theologically astounding, truthfully honest, best answer possible.

he said, "i'm just trying to do better."

it doesn't get more real than that. at first, i took it with a grain of salt, but after tossing it around in my head a little bit, wow. that's where its at!

i want to break this sentence down and try to bring justice to its beauty. i understand that this may seem a bit intense or crazy, but it really is pretty awesome. this guy can throw a simple phrase out there like this that holds so much underlying meaning. this guy lives with underlying meaning.

--- he begins by saying that "i am" -- that is active ownership. he is taking responsibility for what needs to be done. that is in motion. in progress. that is action. right off, he's telling me that he is being proactive.
then he goes on to tell what he is doing. he's trying. that is the most anyone could ever ask for. to try. to put forth effort. he is doing that. he's trying.

and finally, trying what?

to - do - better

that's where i get excited. that's what its all about. taking it to the next level. not always being satisfied with where you're at, knowing there's more. knowing there are things you could do to improve. things you can do to improve. to make a difference. my friend is in progress. he is on a journey. he is being proactive about a cause and working to get there. he has a goal and is striving to reach it.

i kept thinking about this simple sentence. this idea. these simple words that can hold much more meaning than what meets a first glance.

i told him, "do the next right thing."

that's what i've really been trying to focus on. its much easier to tackle one obstacle at a time. we often get caught up in making these life-changing decisions and then become discouraged as soon as we miss the mark or screw up big time. change comes as the result of continuously choosing to do right instead of wrong.

but when we can honestly say to our closest friends, "i'm just trying to do better," then we're certainly on the right path.

that's where i want to be.
-pc