True North

“A compass, I learnt when I was surveying, it’ll point you true north from where you’re standing, but it’s got no advice about the swamps and deserts and chasms that you’ll encounter along the way. If in pursuit of your destination, you plunge ahead, heedless of obstacles, and achieve nothing more than to sink in a swamp… What’s the use of knowing true north?” — Abraham Lincoln

On my last night in Bangkok I decided to treat myself to room service after a day of writing and editing. 

In an act of serendipity, Lincoln was playing on a premium movie channel. Every single time I watch this film (close to half a dozen times now) I learn something new about the man that was Abraham Lincoln.

This time around it was the quote above that got me chewing my upper lip. Sure we all want the easy answers, to swallow the red pill and be done with whatever sadness consumes our thoughts.

Yet life is not tied up in absolutes. It’s about compromise, taking the good with the bad, the beauty and the ugliness. 

There are no shortcuts to true fulfillment.