Just
on the outskirts of "lidhar" village on Bedian road, a side lane juts out at 90 degrees
and leads straight into DHA Phase VI.
The
first time I took that road was when I was coming back from Bedian towards my
home in Phase V.
As
I turned towards the narrow road, it seemed to be all lit up with dazzling
lights. Those lights belonged to the massive Pakistan Kidney and Liver
Institute and Research Center located at the end of the road adjacent to Phase
VI. It is fairly short distance from Bedian to Phase VI which is covered in no
more than a minute or so even if the car is advancing at a not so accelerated speed.
Before I even knew it, I was inside Phase VI and heading towards my home.
Next
time I took that lane, I was moving in the opposite direction: going from Phase
VI towards Bedian. Somehow I ended up on
a completely different road than the one I had driven on previously, even
though I had followed the exact same route and directions as before.
Unlike
the previous road, this particular one looked little more than a narrow lane with deep grown
hedges on either side. The absence of any kind of light made it look gloomier
and scarier than it probably actually was. I drove along convinced I had taken
the wrong turning but drove on nonetheless as there was no U turn to go back.
Barely a minute later I came upon the T junction which was non other than
Bedain road itself running perpendicular to the lane. Badian, also in the absence
of any kind of street light, was equally dark, but being a much busier thoroughfare, was much livelier and hence a less scary road than the one I had just traveled through.
How
could this be?
How
was it possible that I had taken the same route both times and yet traveled on
two completely different roads each time I had done so. Utterly perplexed I
looked back just before turning on to Bedain and that is when reality dawned on me.
One
way from Bedian to Phase VI, the massive and well lit structure of the Pakistan
Kidney and Liver Center and Research Institute is in full view. The brightness is so hypnotizing that one
does not even notice the dark and gloomy road that one happens to be travelling
on at the time.
In
the opposite direction, as one travels from Phase VI to Bedian, the Institute building
is in the back and with no light to distract one, the dark dreariness of the desolate
road hits one with full force.
That
is when I realize the importance of the keeping a clear end goal in mind. Those
who have a bright and clear destination in their focus barely notice the
hardships or isolated dreariness of any part of their journey. Those who have
no clear and brightly lit destination to guide them will question their choice
of path. Confused and unsure, they will look for U turns to retrieve their
steps at multiple points of the journey.
So in a nutshell, if
goals are destinations that you need to get to, then choose your goals
carefully. Choose goals that beckon you with their brightness and give you the
courage to keep moving forward.
In the end the
important thing to remember is to not be daunted by depressing and seemingly isolated
parts of the journey. Sometimes the sharpest and the most focused goals appear
to one on the bleakest and darkest stretches of the road.
