shoot for the moons

Sometimes,

I think of the goals I have, and the things I am trying hard to accomplish.

At times, it is frustrating and discouraging to think of the targets I have not hit, or the small ways that I have failed and fallen short here and there that I can see will add up to me not being able to complete the final leg in a series of tasks. I see effort after marathon effort stopping short of the finish line or falling off and stalling along the way. It is easy to feel that even if I've gone nearly the whole distance, I'm still just as far from achieving the finish as if I'd never started. If only I'd been able to do a little more. You either finish or you don't.

A couple of friends have independently expressed to me that I am somehow a good reminder to them of possibilities for their own lives. And sometimes, gazing up at all the luminous satellites that I have failed to hit, I've wondered where on earth they're getting this idea from. Perhaps other people that I consider 'successful' and whose accomplishments I admire feel the same way.

But then, as I turn away from the sky to make my way home, I notice my trail is actually lit by the glowing pieces of many unexpected stars that came down while I was aiming for the moons.