Chasing the Bright Red Dot?

Do you ever feel like you are chasing the bright red dot?

What does that mean? I have a couple of cats, and the elder of them, who has been with us the longest, is obsessed with the laser pointer. The bright red dot. She will wait in the doorway of my home office for me…merp at me…meow at me, until she gets to play with the bright red dot.

The cat will chase the laser pointer all over the place…and gets bummed out when I turn it off. Since we began making use of it, the bright red dot is her very favorite thing.

And yet, she can never catch the bright red dot. Further, she knows that my wife or I control it. But the moment I pick up the pointer off my desk, she gets practically giddy with excitement and anticipation. Please give me that shiny dot to chase after!

Cats are hunters. My first cat, despite being considerably overweight, was an excellent mouser. She caught several in our one apartment. So logically, you would think that the cat would get tired of the fact that she can never catch the bright red dot.

The metaphor that occurs to me is that many of us spend a lot of time chasing our own bright red dots. Whatever the thing it is, there is a something that we chase and chase and chase. I think the question is, do we truly desire to catch the thing…or do we take some sort of pleasure in the chase?

The red dot is a tangible that is also an intangible. I can see it, it’s right there, I can catch it…except, it’s just a bright point of light and cannot truly be caught.

The bright red dot might be tangible after all

Just because you cannot catch the bright red dot, that doesn’t mean chasing after it is fruitless. My cat does get at least three things out of chasing after it. One, she gets me to pay attention to her. It’s not like I can set the thing and just have it go, I have to point the pointer. Two, she gets exercise. Chasing that dot has her running around the room. Three, she gets the thumb monkey to smile. No matter how annoying she can be when it comes to demanding the damned dot, it still makes me happy to entertain her.

When I started my Pathwalking blog nearly seven years ago, it was part of an action I was taking for the New Year. Along the way, on more than one occasion I have pointed out that the journey is of equal importance to the goal. Chasing the bright red dot on the journey is perfectly acceptable, so long as you know the red dot is not real.

Why does this matter? I think a lot of people get most of their pleasure from the pursuit, and don’t actually want to catch the dot. In Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist (and I cannot recommend that book enough) the main character, in pursuit of his personal legend and a treasure, encounters a lot of teachers along the way. After a dire happening, he winds up working in a crystal shop.

While discussing dreams and goals with the merchant, the older man explains how he wished to visit Mecca, but now feels the vivid dream of doing so is better than the actual action. As he says, “But I’m afraid that it would all be a disappointment, so I prefer just to dream about it.”

Chasing the bright red dot is enough…for some

For many people, having that dream is sufficient. It’s the dot that they can chase and chase and chase. Yes, they enjoy the pursuit, but they believe if they could get it, it would be a disappointment.

This is why it’s important to consider whether you are chasing after a tangible, or an intangible dream.

I desire to be a best-selling author. But there is more. I write my fantasy and sci-fi and Steampunk…but I also write about and practice conscious reality creation. One of the goals I have for this is to not just write about this, but speak about it. Teach it in lectures, discussions, maybe even seminars and coaching.

Chasing the bright red dot — Thalia and her thumb-monkey.

However, to get from where I am now to where I desire to be, I need to take some actions that I am not entirely certain about. In part, because they will force me out of my comfort zone. Additionally, I am not entirely certain what specific actions I need.

But I also need to ask the question, because I have been in pursuit of this idea for some time…is it a mouse, or a bright red dot that I am chasing?

I am a writer. I have published works. There are actions that I have been taking to spread my messages, and move my journey forward. There are days where it feels like I am only chasing the bright red dot…but more often than not, I am pretty sure I am pursuing the mouse.

Sometimes you need to just step back and take stock.

What are you chasing after? What am I chasing after?

Thank you for reading these words, and taking part in my ongoing journey. Thank you for joining me.

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This is the eleventh entry of my personal blog. Please take a moment to check out the collection of my published writing, which can be found here.

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