We are all arrows in mid-flight...

The Zen saying "If you want to climb a mountain, start at the top" is a way of summing up how we break the fetter of doubt. Doubt is unclarity and an unwillingness to commit. It's fear and confusion. Doubt is allayed by our developing a clearer vision of where we're headed in life. When we're going anywhere, we have to start with a sense of where we're headed. First we start at the top of the mountain, keeping our goals in mind, and then we begin the journey. We of course have to fully accept that we're also starting from where we are, but we also have to accept that where we are is not a place. We are all arrows in mid-flight; where we are is a moment on a trajectory, not a position at rest.

--from "Living As a River" by Bodhipaksa