You’ve walked through a crowd wanting to scream at the guy in front of you who is texting and drifting. Don’t be that guy.

Hell on earth, for me, is a crowd. Waterboard me with collard green juice, but please keep me out of crowds.

But I confess there are times when I voluntarily submit to the torture of crowds—Carolina Panthers football games (as if watching the Panthers play isn’t torture enough).

Plodding through throngs of Panther fans reminds me of a profound truth.

People walk aimlessly through life.

How Not to Walk Through Crowds

Crammed shoulder to shoulder, nose to neck as the person in front of you drifts, not walks, and texts their little brother about the lousy Sushi they had Friday night. Or a dude whoops it up with his buddy as he cuts you off, not paying attention as he passes across you. No one has ill intentions. They just don’t move with purpose.

I’m laser-focused as I walk through a crowd. My only goal at that moment is to get out. I watch the person in front of me and ten feet ahead, looking for openings and the next focused person because I know she’s parting the waters leading me to wide open spaces.

But I understand the meanderer.

How Do You Walk Through Life?

I sauntered through life, striving to be good in all my roles and caring for my family, but I never considered the path I wanted to walk. I took what came my way, and God blessed me, but I chose very little.

Then as I approached my 55th year, and my cup of life was indeed less than half full, I decided to figure out what I wanted.

But what did I want?!?

I remember asking God for help and felt Him say, “What is your slightest inkling, the faintest hint of what you want to do?” My only response was writing. And He said, “Pursue that.”

How to Pursue

So, I began with a blurry idea to look for online writing courses and books. This small step required a helping of humble pie because I was a fantastic writer (or so I thought). I started with broad topics, and the path became more focused along the way. I gravitated toward SEO and content writing — reading books and earning several course certifications. This process illuminated a few things for me:

1. I love to write
2. I wasn’t a fantastic writer
3. I knew very little about proper grammar

Like, what the heck are split infinitives? I had to really try hard to understand them.

The most important life lesson I learned is that personal growth begins with humility.

You can’t know what you don’t know until you accept that you don’t know everything. Then you start learning and realize what you don’t know far outweighs what you do know.

Walking with Purpose

The meandering man, who started with the slightest inkling, the faintest hint of what he wanted to do, kindled a weary flame limping on inattention and lack of focus. And I think God chuckled, saying, “Son, it was right there the whole time.”

Now, I wake early, excited to start my day, learn, and work on my craft. And I have so much to learn! But I’m not drifting, mindlessly dillydallying through life in the left lane with no purpose. The journey started with a question –

“What is your slightest inkling, the faintest hint of what you want to do?”

What about You?

Are you happy? Do you look forward to waking up in the morning? Or are you the person Thoreau thought of when he said,

“The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation.”

Think about what you want. If you have only the slightest inkling of what that is, start there and commit to it. The flame will rise or die — not a big deal. Just ask the question again until you find your fire.

But take advice from a lifelong meanderer — choose your lane and move forward every day!

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24

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