Connecting the Dots

You know that feeling that the dots are starting to connect, creating some kind of path. It's like life is presenting you a new road to walk down. It's like all your past—your education, your experience, your connections, your dreams, your disappointments, your challenges, and your moments of shame and glory—are all finding their place in the puzzle and offering you a new perspective. And the harder you try to stay in your comfort zone, the stronger the feeling of unease and the dissatisfaction with the familiar junction you are standing in. 

It's like the universe is trying to give you a hand, recognizing your weaker places, doubts, and concerns and helping you on the journey to fulfill your destiny—as long as you are brave enough to let go of the familiar, overcome your fears and walk down the path created by the connecting dots. But, still, the horizon is out of reach and the view obscured by fog. This fog is best described in one of my favorite quotes from Steve Jobs:

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."

I would add "That Inner Urge" to this list of things to trust in, namely the drive within you that keeps you restlessly searching for something. I would also challenge his claim that the dots can only be connected by looking backwards. I believe that our trust is   stimulated and activated by some of the dots scattered along the way. In other words, without the inner urge you are unable to notice the dots, and without the dots, trust will not survive. It is because of this notion of the dots looking forward that we can see the dots in retrospect when looking backwards. So, when I am standing in that spot of limited visibility, looking for encouragement and assurance to pursue my challenge, I keep myself alert to the signs around me and let them support my slow-growing confidence, hoping that at least some of the dots scattered around will turn out to be stars lined up and illuminating the path leading to my vocation.