One step at a time -A story about my painting

One Step at a Time

Bec had a terrible habit of wanting to know how everything was going to work out before she began.

Where was she going?

How was she going to get there?

How long would it take?

What if rock number seven was slippery?

Was there even a rock number seven?

Apparently her brain would like a full itinerary, a map and preferably written confirmation from the universe before taking a single step.

Life, annoyingly, didn’t seem to work that way.

Bec had just returned from a Reset Your Life Retreat, where she had been encouraged to declutter her life, let go of the things that no longer served her, embrace vulnerability and decide what she really wanted.

Bec took the advice seriously.

Very seriously.

She stripped off.

Nothing to hide.

Nothing to carry.

Okay, perhaps that wasn’t exactly what they meant by embrace vulnerability, but she was committed now.

She had also come home with a new goal.

A big one.

The sort of goal that felt wonderfully exciting when she wrote it in her journal at the retreat and mildly terrifying when she woke up the next morning and realised she might actually have to do something about it.

But she had learned something else while she was away.

Once you decide where you want to go, you don’t have to work out every single step to get there.

You only have to find the next one.

So Bec stepped onto the first rock.

Then she looked for the next.

Not number seven.

Not the other side.

Just the next rock in front of her.

Because perhaps we were never meant to travel in a perfectly straight line from A to B anyway.

We set a goal because it gives us a direction to head in. But somewhere along the way, life might nudge us a little to the left. An unexpected opportunity might send us to the right. We might discover that what we thought we wanted isn’t quite what we want anymore.

That doesn’t mean we’ve gone the wrong way.

Maybe the original goal simply got us moving in the right direction.

And perhaps there’s something to be said for enjoying the rocks along the way instead of spending the whole journey staring desperately at the other side.

Bec looked down at the rock beneath her feet.

This one was enough for now.

She didn’t need to know exactly how she was going to get there.

She just needed to ask:

Where’s my next rock?

About the Painting

One Step at a Time is about moving forward when you don’t have all the answers.

We often think we need to know exactly where we’re going and how we’re going to get there before we begin. But sometimes all we really need is a direction, the courage to start, and enough trust to take the next step.

The destination may change. The path may wander. And perhaps that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be.

Hidden in the Painting

The rocks represent the individual steps along the way. Bec doesn’t need to see every rock or know exactly where each one will lead. She only needs to find the next one.

The water represents the unknown. It surrounds her, but she doesn’t have to conquer it or control it. She simply has to keep moving through it.

Her nakedness represents vulnerability, but also freedom. She has stripped away some of the things that no longer serve her. There’s nothing to hide behind and less to carry into whatever comes next.

The gaps between the rocks are important too. There will always be moments when we have to leave something secure before we can reach the next safe place.

The wandering path reminds us that life rarely takes us neatly from A to B. A goal can give us a direction, but we need to leave room for detours, opportunities, changed minds and the occasional nudge from the universe.

And perhaps the biggest meaning is the simplest one:

You don’t need to work out the whole journey today.

Just find your next rock.