Paths to infinity

In the future, all steps are immeasurable. There are an infinite number of paths on the way to reaching a future goal. In the past, the steps are easily broken down, catalogued, documented, and narrated. In the future, there is only the distant light, the present moment, and the near truth. The near truth is the step beyond where you are. It is the next present moment that you can predict reasonably well and the place you are aiming for, perfectly or generally, in line with the distant light that represents your ultimate goal.

In the future, the steps are drafts, visions, and assumptions. In the past, the steps are history and interpretations.

Some steps will move away from the distant light, as in a complicated maze where sometimes one must backstep to find an open pathway. As long as the light shines or we believe, even when it is obscured as all distant lights must be, from time to time, that is still shines and that it is where we ultimately want to be, we are on the path.

Throughout our lifetimes we will have many lights. From the small, near orbs that we approach and absorb without thought to the big dreams that we chase for decades. Some lights will poison us in their pursuit. Some lights will sustain us, always, though the world heaves around us. And one light we cannot help but move toward all of our days -- the light of the end of life. Or perhaps it is the darkness, beyond which no light can shine. Near or far, it is a mystery whose narrative belongs to the human imagination and whose secrets may never be revealed.

The secret of immortality lies within the scope and range and intensity of our lights. Our visions, plans, dreams, desires, curiosities, and hopes are the burning fuel that keep the machinery of our bodies and minds whirring and churning and seeking. The infinite gift of humanity is our singular power to exercise a degree of artistic license over our lights. We can change our dreams. We can design and hang lampshades, add colored bulbs, engineer whole systems to house our lights. We can share light. We can steal light. We can borrow and buy and sell light.

And the price of the light that we have influence over, that wards off the darkness, is a little piece of portable, permanent darkness that we carry with us at all times. It is awareness. It is the knowledge that someday we will die and that there are no finish lines but those that transform into new directions and new beginnings as we cross over them. We know that our lights come from within. Each of us knows, somewhere deep inside, that we are islands in the shade burning bonfires to an empty sky. We are separate in our consciousness which are the true creators of reality for each of us. We each exist in a world of our own creation, huddled with darkness, looking out at the light that comes from within us. We huddle with the illusion of power and powerlessness, swapping one for the other as it suits us, in ways we don't really understand.

But with our knowledge comes power of choice and the magic of our unique awareness. We are beings of infinite potential, and limited focus. If we dare to embrace the contrast, the epic loneliness, the universal common ground of isolation, and label it "community" we can see that darkness and light are merely colors in a spectrum of infinite wisdom. We are a cell in an infinite organism, a molecule, an atom, a mathematical point within the fabric of everything. Without a set judgement, we are free to believe that all outcomes are beautiful and all days are full of lights. All lights are full of joy and darkness is the palette upon which joy can be painted. Without criticism, the elixir of life is life itself, in every hue and flavor. Every light is the light and every step is significant and successful.