one degree

the other day i was talking with one of my best friends here who also happens to be a wise soul. she will sometimes slip into the conversation, little pieces that are often, for me, life changing. we were talking about goals and change and courage (in the 'telling the story of who you are with your whole heart' kind of a way).  i'm sure i was talking dramatically about trying to be the person i really want to be, and how moving into that person can feel so overwhelming, and how i often feel like i'm learning the same lessons over and over again.

then she mentioned that when your navigating with a compass, if you change course by one degree, you completely change where you end up. she mentioned it as if everyone knows this.  as if it were common knowledge.  but i thought it was brilliant. one degree.   who would think that one degree would matter. at. all?  but it does. especially over time.  i love this.  it doesn't need to be massive.  it doesn't need to be overwhelming. it's the little decisions we make that steer the ship.  that keep us on course.   but, i realized, these small things it can also get us off course.  they can seem benign and irrelevant- yet they eventually lead us far from where we wanted to be.

it's the things we can't say no to.  or should say yes to but don't.  it's not listening to that still small voice.  it's being over busy.  it's impulsively sending that email. it's buying that shirt we don't need.  it's spending that extra half hour on facebook instead of reading to our kids.  it's all those little things we find ourselves justifying. 

thankfully, small changes matter. we can adjust.  we can realign.  we can correct.  one small degree can get us where we want to be.

i can get behind one degree.  i can embrace that. i can make a big sign and hang it in the living room that says ONE DEGREE to remind me- because even though it's simple, even though it's only two words, i so easily forget these things.  i should probably make two more signs. one that says WAIT - because it never hurts to wait.  and one that says, "if you have to justify it- you just shouldn't do it." because that is also usually true.

it's easier to begin when it's only one degree.  its easier to make change in our minutes.  i will think of them as little bits of empowerment.  little opportunities for growth and alignment.  sitting here writing this is one of those moments.  it was finding my spot on the horizon.  it was seeing which direction my options would lead me toward. it was waiting.  it was saying no to a request.  it was choosing to be still and slow down and be here now.  one degree.