Which Way Do You Face?
By Darrel Hammon
Seems like an appropriate question
to ask, ponder, maybe even answer
at this point in our lives or anytime—
preferably sooner than later.
Too many people are confused
about which way they face
or should face, or need to face.
Often, they spend too much time
looking back over their shoulder,
moaning about the past
and “what might have been.”
Others spend so much time scrolling
instead of exploring and seeing
the world around them or even
what should be the most important
focus in their lives.
Which way do you face is a question
of priority, of choice, of moving forward,
of not spending time dabbling
in the ephemeral or not spending
enough time pondering and doing
the best things in life,
like family, overcoming challenging things—
often with help—being grateful for
and acknowledging all the blessings
that have come your way, and moving
ever forward toward goals and positive things
that will enhance your life and situation.
Facing forward, you can create
And develop the pathway for your future,
and every decision you make propels you
either forward or backward along that pathway.
Going backward will ultimately send you
spinning over the cliff and downward
like the boulder that Sisyphus
is eternally cursed to push up the hill
only watch it roll back down the hill
over and over again.
Only forward, yes, even scrambling
or even stumbling periodically
as you go, will get you where you want
and need to become, what you need to be,
whatever you choose to become.
Onward you must go, facing ever forward!
Darrel L. Hammon has been dabbling in writing in a variety of genres since his college days, having published poetry, academic and personal articles/essays, a book titled Completing Graduate School Long Distance (Sage
Publications), and a picture book, The Adventures of Bob the Bullfrog: Christmas Beneath a Frozen Lake (Outskirts Press). He also was the editor of the Journal of Adult Education (Mountain Plains Adult Education Association). Most of his essay/article writing has focused on topics about growing up, leadership, self-awareness, motivation, marriage/dating, and educational topics. Some of these articles/essays are in Spanish because
Darrel is bilingual in Spanish/English, having lived in Chile, Dominican Republic, and southern California, and having worked with Latino youth and families all of his professional life in higher education. He has two blogs, one for personal writing at http://www.darrelhammon.blogspot.com/ and one for his consulting/life coaching business (http://www.hammonconsults.blogspot.com/).
