Goals By Linda Stowe
“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what’s a heaven for?”
This quote is from a very long Robert Browning poem, “Andrea del Sarto.” We studied the poem in school, but this is all I recall from a poem that meanders on for 267 lines. And, really, it’s not even the whole line that I recall. All that comes to mind is the part about one’s reach exceeding one’s grasp. That was the line that clicked for me. I used to see it as a motivator to always strive for bigger and higher goals, and for the most part it has served me well.
But, looking back, I wonder. It’s good to have goals, to want to move from this space to that space. And once you arrive at that space, it feels pretty good. Then things settle down and you start looking around for another space. And so, the effort begins anew until that space is conquered. Until years later and you’re surrounded by all these spaces you’ve acquired and there’s not a lot of time or energy left, you begin to wonder. Was that the right goal?
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Polly here.
This made me reflect on my own life, especially on my earlier years. I didn’t have goals back in my early and mid-adulthood. I was just working my jobs during the day and having fun / drinking when I wasn’t working. I suppose my only goal back then was to have enough money to pay my bills.
I have a lot of regrets about that period of my life. I look back and feel like I wasted a lot of time just fluttering through my days. Working, partying, and not looking at the world around me. I had zero goals.
These days, I am a different person than I was 20, 30, 40 years ago. I suppose we all are. But I see the world around me now. I wonder about this great big Universe and my place in it. I have intentions now. Aspirations. I have a need in my heart. Are they the right things? I don’t know. I feel like I’m still in search of my life purpose.
But until then, I am certain that I want to be here in a way that contributes to peace. Peace and kindness.
Goals By Linda Stowe
