I left for my run this morning not knowing exactly where I was going to run. This is rare because I normally visualize the path I will run before I go to bed at night. I am back on my normal run time, which is about a half hour earlier than my Holiday run time. It is still dark when I leave and today was the first time in a couple of weeks that I ran by myself. I run in the open desert, away from the homes and busy roads of our little town. There are quite a few trails and dirt roads to run on and sometimes I even run cross country where there are no trails between the creosote and Joshua trees. It is a wonderful feeling to be out there alone with the natural earth.
The darkness this morning made it hard for me to see even the normal trails that I run on. The first mile of my run takes me up a steep sandy wash. It is my entry into the desert. After that I can pretty much pick a direction and run where ever I want. When I got to the top of the wash today, I still did not know which way I was going to go. I just was running without any purposeful direction. As I crested a slope I call Gibbons Peak, I knew that I would next run up a pretty significant hill I call Mama Jo.
Running up Mama Jo, I began to visualize all of the possibilities ahead of me. My upward climb in the darkness turned into a moment of meditation. I could see ahead of me there were many paths to choose from and none of them were bad paths. Each held different challenges for me, but none were particularly dangerous. The more I thought about it the more I could see different paths to take. One particular path emerged in my mind. It was a trail that I had not run for a while and it immediately felt right. It became my path for the day.
The rest of my run I continued to focus on the process of receiving what I call "personal revelation". My experience in the desert on my run this morning reminded me of my experiences in the world. Sometimes I set off on a pursuit in darkness with only a faint idea of where I am headed. This kind of non-directional travel is exciting but doesn't always get me where I want to go. Inevitably, I am faced with moments of decision. Points when I really don't know what to do next. Sometimes, like on my run this morning, the majority of the choices seem to be of equal value. In other words, it didn't matter which way I ran this morning. I could have gone on any of the available trails and got the same result; a good vigorous run.
Critical Times
But other times, I find myself on a more critical path, with fewer choices and much more at stake if I pick the wrong path. These are the moments when I feel like I must be careful. I take it to a different level for making these types of decisions. For me they require a lot more thought and consultation with external sources. I know the ultimate decision will be mine, but I like to get help in understanding all possible choices before I make a decision.
This Is My Process
First I lay out all the different possibilities and I consider them all very carefully. I usually can eliminate the most obvious ones that don't meet my needs fairly quickly when I see them all together. Then I begin speaking with those inside my circle of influence about the remaining possibilities. I don't poll everyone, just one or two people who I know have greater amounts of experience on the path I am pursuing. After I get their input I look at the choices again. I think about what my friends have said and I make a decision.
I never implement a decision though until it passes my final step. My final step is pray about it. I know that may sound silly to some of you, but I believe in the power of prayer. In my prayer I tell God what I am going to do, and then I ask Him to help me see whether or not I have chosen a good path. I never ask Him to tell me what to do, I just ask Him to confirm that my decision will be helpful to me. Usually I get a good feeling and proceed with my implementation plan. Sometimes I get a cloudy feeling as I counsel over the matter in my prayer. When I feel any sense of confusion or uncertainty, I know there is something wrong with my plan and that I need to either refine it or consider one of the other options.
I love the thought that "the Lord helps those who help themselves". By making my decision ahead of time, I am showing God that I am willing to be accountable for my life. Once again, my prayer is not for Him to tell me what to do, it is for Him to keep me safe and to help me see what I may not have been able to see in my decision making process.
This morning, I saw the path that I would run. It came to me in a very clear and precise way. I saw the trails and the hills that I would run in my head like a movie. In the very same way, I have seen the path my decisions will take me on as I have been praying about them. I have seen what lies ahead in a very detailed manner. Once or twice I have moved ahead with something that I knew through this "personal revelation" process would not yield good results. I believed I was strong enough to avoid the pitfalls that I saw in my mind as I was praying. Those few experiences have created the greatest losses and time of despair in my life. To me, there is safety in having the final step of my decision process being that of seeking confirmation from God that I am on the right path.
What Is Your Process?
How do you make decisions? What is your process? I would enjoy hearing about it so leave a comment or send me an email.
Life is good!
Andrew Thorn
760-559-3548
andrew@andrewthorn.com
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