Lighthouses...

I've always loved lighthouses. 

I've collected a few statues, we've done a few tours. I've looked at possible tattoos. The travel list includes driving down the coast from Washington to California doing a lighthouse tour at some point. 

When I was younger they featured heavily in Christian art. The lighthouse being a good symbol for religion right? Showing you the path. Giving you a guide. So I came to collecting pieces that way. 

When I left the church, I kept the lighthouses.  

I've talked before about Brent and I being each other's lighthouses. The guide home. The world is rough and it's nice to have someone that helps you navigate it. 

And that's always been the way I've viewed them. A way to see the dangerous spots. A light to mark the safe passage.

And then...

Today while I was working out part of it was on the coast and Tommy Rivs (trainer in the program) was talking about the lighthouses. There was the original one and a modern one built right next to it. It's on the Canary Islands, rocky volcanic coast, so I expected him to say something about the light to mark safe passage and instead he said, it's like a goal. 

You are out in the ocean, nothing around for miles and miles, completely black around you. It gets repetitive. It's dull. It's just constantly the same. And then...you look ahead and see a spot of light. Something to work towards. Something that you can mark progress with. Get closer to that light. That's your focus. Suddenly you have something different, something to work towards. It's not just dull and the same anymore.

It's a goal. 

Well cool.

And, for me, it's sort of the same thing. My goals light my path. They keep me from floundering in the rocks. I use them to keep me from either wandering off or just sitting still. 

The world hits you with a lot. All of the time. If you are easily distracted you can find yourself chasing a lot of squirrels. And if you are easily overwhelmed you can find yourself just sitting with eyes wide having no idea what to do. 

I am a combination of both. Sometimes it's all too much and I shut down. Sometimes it's all so much and I want to do everything. My goals give me something to focus on to tune out all of the distractions. 

For instance, I have been busy the past few days and haven't written. But I have a goal that I want to reach and to do that I need to write almost every day for the rest of the month. So here I am sharing with you about my workout. Which this series is 20 thirty minute (or so) chunks that if I finish by the end of the month I get a little digital trophy for my trophy case. But they released the series when there were only 20 days left in the month. So to make sure I get the weekends off I have to double up on my cardio only days. Which today was one. So I did cardio for just over an hour. Ran/walked for 4.25 miles. And the thing that kept me going at about minute 48 was that I needed to finish to stay on track to reach that goal. 

I can see the lighthouse in the distance and I am always moving towards it. 

I like that idea. 

Just another reason to love lighthouses. 

Safe passage in more ways than one.