"Small moves, Ellie. Small moves."

I just finished watching the 1997 movie Contact. It's one of my favorite movies and I always see something different everytime I watch it. This time, it was the words I used as the title of this post. The character of Ellie Arroway is so eager, so impatient to make contact with someone via her ham radio but her father reminds her to take small steps. Good advice.
Everyone on this planet has some goal in mind, some end we are trying to arrive at. We are all so eager, so impatient to get there that it's frightening at times. The other day I heard a story about a man who "made it." He had everything he ever wanted...and it ruined him. Now he lives a simple lifestyle on purpose and is happier for it. It's an old story and we've all heard it before but it still rings true. I can relate in a different way. I used to have a job that put more money in my pocket than the one I have now but that job was my life. It was the beginning and end of me. When I lost that job, I lost myself for a while. In my present job, that's not the case. I make less money but I'm able to leave that job, come home and make art, a rediscovered essential part of myself that I thought was lost forever. I am able to spend quality time with my wife, something I see far too few couples doing these days. So, when I get too eager I will try to remember those words and personalize it for myself. Small moves, Marty. Small moves.