Our lives are like a maze.
Not the simple kind printed on the back of a kid’s menu, where you can see the whole thing at once and trace the path with your finger. It is the kind you walk inside. Tall hedges on either side. You can’t see over them. You can only see the turn directly in front of you.
Every day, we come to an intersection. Some are small. Do I speak up or stay quiet? Do I take this job or stay where I am? Do I call him back? Some are so large they change the shape of everything after them. Who we marry, where we live, what we believe, what we forgive. And depending on which turn we choose, we either find a treasure or we find a brick wall.
The brick walls are inevitable. Everyone finds them. You walk confidently down a path you were sure was right, you turn the corner, and there it is. Solid. Unmoving. A career that looked promising but left you empty. A relationship you poured yourself into that ends anyway. A dream you chased for years only to realize it was never yours to begin with.
When we hit those walls, it feels like failure. We stand there staring at the bricks, angry at ourselves for choosing wrong. But a maze is not a test with only one right answer. The wall is part of the path. It is information. It tells you, not here. Not this way. Go back, try again, choose differently. No one learns the maze without touching a few walls.
And then there are the treasures. They rarely look like we imagined. Sometimes a treasure is obvious. Love, a child, a home you built, work that matters to you. Sometimes it is quieter. A morning where you finally feel at peace with yourself. A friendship that has lasted thirty years without ever needing to be loud about it. The realization that you survived something you thought would break you.
The strange thing about the maze is that the treasure and the wall are often on the same path. You have to hit the wall to find the treasure hidden right around the corner from it. The heartbreak leads you to the person you were actually meant to be with. The job you lost forces you to start the thing you should have started ten years earlier.
There is another secret about mazes. From inside, every wrong turn feels permanent. From above, it is just a small detour. We are inside our lives, so we cannot see the whole design. We think when we are lost that we will be lost forever. But time gives us height. Looking back, you can see how even the wrong turns were taking you somewhere. How the winding, confusing path was actually leading you forward all along.
You do not get a map when you enter. You only get the ability to choose. To pause at the intersection, to listen carefully, to be brave enough to turn even when you are not sure.
Some people spend their whole lives standing at an intersection, too afraid to choose a wall that they never find a treasure either. The maze does not reward standing still.
So choose. If you find a wall, touch it, learn it, and turn around with dignity. If you find a treasure, stop. Sit with it. Let yourself have it completely before you keep walking.
The maze is not meant to be solved quickly. It is meant to be walked, explored, and enjoyed. Have a great day, and enjoy your life.
“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.'” – Isaiah 30:21
Being About The Journey 