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Every situation comes with an unlimited set of options. Sometimes, the sheer number of possible directions is so overwhelming that making a decision seems almost impossible. Othertimes, while there are still technically millions of options available, one path seems clearer and truer than the rest. It can be compared to standing in the center of a giant crater at high noon. Every direction on the compass is a possible selection for travel.

Sometimes the path itself can lead you to a choice. If you are desperately in need of water and see a cactus in one direction, your choice was just made a lot easier. Additionally, a pile of rattlesnakes shaking their tails might tell you that another choice is better than that one. However, this method of decision making is limiting and based on need or fear. We don't see past the cactus or the snakes. Oftentimes, the horizon is a better indicator of which direction we should travel.

One might say it's best to ignore the snakes, and ignore the need for water, and keep the eyes locked on that point on the horizon that is best. However, ignoring your fears can lead to trouble if your fears are founded in reality. And ignoring your thirst can lead to dehydration and death. In this case, maybe it's best to walk around the snakes, and then straight for the cactus, and then reevaluate the situaion from that point. But, in many cases, the path from the cactus' point-of-view isn't any clearer.

The situation is made infinitly more difficult when we consider what lies beyond the horizon.

The safe traveller will run back to where he came from in hide in the shadows of what is familiar. And everyday he'll rise in the morning, walk out to that same point in the crater, survey his options, see that nothing has changed, and retire back to his safety. His desire for travel will never be satisfied, and he will be forced to remain stagnant by his fear, his confusion, and his unwillingness to make a choice.

The overly cautious traveller will sit at that point in the crater and ponder the options until night falls and he is left without food, water, or shelter from the cold. When the sun rises again, he is left with the same decision to make, only this time, his mind is tired, his body is worn, his mouth is dry and his belly is empty.

The wild traveller will run full-speed in the direction that seems most instantly gratifying. He'll stuble through cactus forgetting to drink and scarring his legs. He'll trip over rocks brusing his body and driving him even closer to the point of insanity. He'll trample through the beds of snakes causing him to be bit, and possibly his death. The likelyhood of him lasting more than a few hours at this speed is slim, if he survives long enough to reach exhaustion.

The wise traveller keeps moving remembering that the ultimate goal is travel and, of course, that final destination. He watches the land, looks for traps, and crosses the path of a cactus as often as possible, just in case. He may not know exactly where he is going, but he knows that standing where he is isn't going to get him there. He keeps as straight a path as possible, avoiding most traps, and yet walking with caution through the ones that are too time consuming to travel around. He keeps a steady pace. He analyzes the footprints of other travellers hoping to learn from their fortunes and mistakes. He remembers where he has been, and how he got where he is now. He learns from his own mistakes, lest he make them again.

The wise traveller may make a bad choice along the way, leading him miles and miles from his intended destination but at least he'll get there. The safe traveller will still be in his bed every morning, going no where. The cautious traveller will be picked apart by vultures before long, scattering his entrails about the desert floor as a reminder to future travellers of what happens if you sit still for too long. The wild traveller will be crawling across the desert floor, dehydrated, exhausted, and near-death from snake-bites.

Thunder only happens when it's raining
Players only love you when they're playing
Say, Women they will come and they will go
When the rain washes you clean, you'll know.

–Fleetwood Mac