“Sin” is an archery term. It has to do with aim.
To sin is to miss the target.
In Greek, the word hamartia carries the idea of failing to hit the centre of the target. And there are several ways to miss.
You can miss because you’re not aiming at anything. Because you do have a target, but you don’t yet have the skill to hit it. Because you’re aiming in the wrong direction. Or because you’ve simply given up on choosing a target at all.
In every case, the result is the same: you miss the target.
Not every failure means the same thing. It’s one thing to want something that’s right for you and not yet know how to get it. You may simply need to learn more, practise and be patient.
It’s quite another to be perfectly competent and use all that competence to build a life you don’t want. In that case, the problem isn’t that you’re missing the shot, it’s that you’re shooting at the wrong target.
And there’s a third possibility we shouldn’t overlook, but which is extremely common: not choosing a target at all, moving through life on autopilot, reacting to whatever comes along, doing what you’re supposed to do, what other people expect of you or what seems reasonable at any given moment. Then you don’t even have a clear point of reference to know whether you’re moving forwards or drifting off course.
The truth is, you can be very good at achieving things and still be missing the target completely.
If the world seems like a miserable, pointless, hopeless road full of obstacles, perhaps you should ask yourself what the hell you’re aiming at.
What exactly are you aiming at?
I’m not talking here about what you want or what your goals are. I mean:
What target is your life currently organised around?
Because it may be one you never consciously chose. Let’s look at a few examples to make this more concrete:
- Prestige.
- Not disappointing the people close to you.
- Stability.
- Being a good son or daughter.
- Making sure nobody thinks badly of you.
- Proving something.
- Not failing.
- Having a life that looks “right”.
And you can spend twenty years (or an entire lifetime) shooting with extraordinary accuracy.
Before asking yourself why you’re not getting what you want, make sure you haven’t spent years aiming at the wrong target.
Your target doesn’t just determine where you’re trying to get. It determines what you see, what you ignore, what you sacrifice and what you interpret as important along the way.
What exactly are you aiming at?
Love,
Noemi
P.S. If you don’t want to miss the target, go… here.
