It’s Around The Corner

If you wander around long enough, you find what you’re looking for.

There’s no better way to illustrate this concept than trying to find places in a foreign city you’ve never been to – and don’t speak the language.

Know It When You See It

One of the first nights in Chiang Mai, I stumbled on a good, cheap restaurant. It had a number in its name and was somewhere near that one temple. That’s… ummm… a pretty good description, right?

A few nights later, I wanted to go to the same place, but was pretty vague about that place was.

I knew the temple was near the co-working space, which was easy to map and get in the general area. After a couple short walks down a couple long alleys, I began to make my way towards one of the larger streets just to get my bearings. As I came up to the next block, there was the restaurant I was looking for. Cafe’ 29. The sign I had forgotten about instantly jogged my memory. The familiar two steps to the patio, misting fans, and even the same waitress.

Yep. That was the place. I just had to wander around until I found it.

Sometimes, you’re trying to get back to some place you were before. Sometimes you’re trying to get back to some you that you were before.

You’re lost in a way, but if you wander around long enough, you find the signs that lead you back to that place.

A Long Shot

While having coffee in a different area of the city, I wound up speaking to a gentleman who had stayed in Chiang Mai a few times. He suggested a hotel that was cheap, clean, and offered monthly rentals. Just what I had in mind! It was “a few blocks down” and with the wave of his hand, “over there.”

Not great instructions, but I knew the name of the place and figured I could just Google it. Unfortunately, that’s not as easy of a thing here. People tend to use a lot of abbreviations and English translations that don’t quite match up to the actual names.

So, I really had no map. Only that the hotel was “a few blocks from the coffee shop and over there.” I decided it couldn’t be too hard to locate, so I set off walking.

Unfortunately, “over there” was a few square blocks of high-rise hotels. Roughly a dozen or so scattered around a few blocks and intertwined through alleys.

But, after a half hour or so of wandering around, there it was. The picture matched the place online and as I got closer, I saw the name on the sign… and there I was.

Sometimes, you’re not lost. You’re just trying to find something that you’re pretty sure exists inside you. You’ve never seen it before and you don’t know how to accomplish it, but if you wander around long enough – trying different things inside you – it becomes apparent how to get what you’re looking for.

The Journey’s Sake

This whole vision quest was founded on the idea of wandering around trying to find what’s missing.

Sometimes, the end is unknown. You know there’s something there. You’ve tried to figure out what it is. Now, you realize you just have to take one step down the path to begin to see it take shape.

Of Mice and Nothing

You know what’s really going to blow your mind? What if I told you there was no corner. What if the “it” is looking for you?

You’ve just got to stop thinking you know how to get “it,” so “it” can find you.

For a bit now, I’ve been focusing on letting go of the “how.” How is my day going to look? How am I going to fit my tasks in? How am I going to get coffee? How am I going to eat?

I put my laptop, my cell phone, and few hundred baht in my bag, then walk out the door. I’ve still got some things I want to get done in the day, but they happen as they happen. Email during coffee. Write a bit after meditating. Eat at whatever restaurant is close.

Something magic has happened! Everything still gets done. The stuff that doesn’t get done really didn’t need to. All those to-dos that I think are the path I’m trying to be on; they get done even without the structure of this now / that then.

And… I’m still learning things.

I’m still finding things.

… or rather the things are finding me.

On Purpose

What if… and humor me here…

What if you applied that last one to that “thing” you are undecided on? What if you just tried stuff as it seems to come up naturally, and let what happens happen?

Struggling with being single? Just go on a couple dates – even if you don’t know how the guy will fit in your life.

Not sure what business to start? Just start something – even if you don’t know exactly what it’s going to look like.

Totally love doing something? Keep doing it – even if you don’t know exactly how it’s going to support you.

We talk a lot about taking our own journeys, about living our version of life, about finding our unique purpose. Yet, we try to mimic someone else’s destination. We get frustrated when we it doesn’t happen the way it did for them and we rush off to try someone else’s destination.

We create the destination and try to get there using someone else’s path. This is a great business strategy, but a rather poor life strategy.

What is right for us… What we’re meant to be doing… Our purpose isn’t something we find systematically – like a restaurant or a hotel. Purpose finds you.