When you stretch out your hand and touch or grab at something you reach for it. When you drive, ride, fly or walk and arrive at a destination, you reach the destination (this is very clearly stated by the voice in the system if you are using a GPS). When you affect and influence people across a wide geographic spectrum, you have a reach covering that audience. You reach for something, reach a destination, reach a person, reach a milestone and reach a goal. What an interesting word, REACH. Reach is a very rich word, is it not? I was just wondering how reach applies to my own life and that of everyone else around me. What am I reaching for, who am I trying to reach and what destination will I reach with where I am facing and at my current pace? The answer was a plain and simple one. I must be on a correct path be moving not stagnant. Couple of times I have been driving and tried to reach for something in the back seat, but because I cannot simultaneously remove my eyes off the road, I miss it a couple of times, and end up stopping the car so that I can get the item. Either I reach in the wrong direction, or my reach is too short to where the item is, both which deny me my goal. If you reach out to the wrong thing you will not get the result you want and you may even get burnt, literally or figuratively, if you reach the wrong destination, you may need to re-trace your steps and re-route to the correct one. If you reach the wrong audience you may receive negative criticism and be discouraged thinking you did the wrong thing.
Everyday reach
Reach is something we do everyday of our lives knowingly or unknowingly, spoken or unspoken. In the morning I reach for the towel after a shower or bath, then reach for the shelf, rack or drawer where my clothes are. I then reach for the cereal box up in that high cupboard for a healthy breakfast and then reach for the car keys as I rush to drive out. We reach different places, the office, our house, church, conference venue or a function. We reach out to different people, our family, friends, workmates and other people, maybe because we are extroverts or we just care about them. We are always reaching for something or someone, and sometimes we find out and make peace with the fact that certain things are out of reach, and we realign our intent to reach with our possibilities. Inevitably however, at some point we reach the end of our lives. This is one destination we do not intentionally reach out for, but we find ourselves there anyway. Now the question that comes is, when you reach that point in life, would you have reached where you were going and in the process, the people you wanted to reach? I not only want to reach milestones, but I also want to reach people and places. It is a decision I have reached as I thought about the effect of reach on my life. Now you can reach your own conclusions and maybe continue on your current path, or change direction and start reaching for your goals and also reaching out to the people you need to reach in your life. Enjoy the journey and hopefully smile when you reach your destination.
I was not expecting you to go there but it is a true result of life that cannot be denied or escaped. We can all only hope that when the time comes we have a sense of satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteYou've really got me thinking about the word and meaning or "reach" with this post Welli. And so true about the end of our lives...when we have reached that point, I think we all start thinking about where and who we have reached on our way there. What you have brought to mind, is to be more mindful of our reach before we find ourselves at that last stop.
ReplyDeleteOOOps I never thought about this in such way.
ReplyDeleteWe have many goals in life big and small and we have to reach them by some effort.
I love the picture of kid, it is really going with "Reach". I think we are reaching our goals to reach the finish line of our life. When we will reach there that will not be an end but a reach to a new world.. Just a thought.
You are reaching to many people with the "reach" . Very interesting word.
ReplyDeleteInteresting take on the meaning of reach. We do need to reach for the things that are important even if it is a stretch. As you've pointed out, our reach to other people is very important,
ReplyDeleteYou are also reaching when you write a blog. I think we all want our blog posts to be read, to reach an audience. And as part of that reach we want to converse and connect with that audience.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how you have come up with so many different interpretations of the word "reach."
ReplyDeleteI nearly reached the end of my young life when my appendix burst, and it sure got me thinking about what's important and what isn't. Since then, I've made new goals, reached them, and now have made more. :)
I think sometimes we dream too much, or want the things outside out reach. We forget about the items and people who are within our reach.
ReplyDeleteI love the use of the word reach. There are so many words like it but putting to paper makes you think. Motivational speakers always use the terms to reach your goals. I will now be more aware of the word reach.
ReplyDeleteHi Welli - thanks for reaching out. Like you, I think it's important to reach out to people and I think blogging is part of that. It's interesting when you stop and think about it, as you obviously did, how often we do reach for others, for things, for abstracts like goals. Great post.
ReplyDeleteI think reach and adaptability go hand in hand here. Those who keep reaching will be faster to adjust to new developments and situations. Maybe they will also faster recognize limitations and try a different way to reach their goals.
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