My Uncle Mario was a retired Navy Chief. He lived in Gardena California. This is a suburb of Los Angeles. He owed a good sized sailboat. One large enough to be out in the open sea.
A perk of his Navy retirement was that he was able to moor his boar at the Long Beach Naval Facility. It was always a much anticipated trip when we would drive up from San Diego to go out on his boat.
On one occasion my buddy, Bob, and I made the trek up. We were going to stay on the boat overnight at the dock. Early the next morning we would head out with Uncle Mario to the open ocean for fishing.
We had a fantastic time. Caught a bunch of fish. Early afternoon we began our journey into the Long Beach naval harbor.
Uncle Mario called me over to where he was steering the boat. He pointed way off on the horizon. He asked me, “Do you see that light beacon on the end of that jetty?”
It looked like a small dot floating in the air. It was difficult to see the entire beacon due to the distance. I told him I did.
He said to me, “Keep the bow of the boat on that beacon. If you do this, we will get to where we want to be.” After which he disappeared below deck.
I had just become Captain of the ship. I was going to get us home. My instructions were clear. Keep the bow of the boat on the beacon. I did. I got us home.
This reminded me of a statement my wife shared with me. She had heard it on our local K-LOVE Radio Station. “Where you stare is where you steer.”
This was true of the sail boat I was navigating. It is true of the direction you set for your life. Make a conscience effort to choose what you will stare at. It will determine both your path and your destination.