Adrift

Without motive power. At the mercy of currents. The word adrift generally comes to mind when thinking about directionless displacement, or deviation – either from a (vessel’s) charted course, or from a (person’s) planned path.

Hardship tends to accompany such aimless floating: while the mind focuses on the perceived infinite duration of time, it races to enumerate the vanished old and the unwelcome new.

At times when what feels impossible envelops us (sometimes for 484 days and 5,000 miles), optimism can redirect our attention from without to within: we always have the choice to embrace what is possible, and to control what we can on our path into the future (0.34).