Pathwalking 203
As I walk my own path, I do not do so ignoring the paths of others.
My path is unique, as is yours, his, hers…everybody’s. However, no path is more important than another, and no one of us is any better than the rest. We are all equal, and we are all one.
Society has become utterly obsessed with division. We are split along lines of gender, or sexual orientation, or rich and poor, black and white…take your pick.
Scientifically, it does not matter. X-Ray through the skin and you will see bones and internal organs that are so minutely different as to be unmistaken and called the same. No matter the variations, we all have the same parts and pieces underneath.
Spiritually, it does not matter. We all have hopes, dreams, goals and desires. We have our beliefs and prejudices and so on and so forth. No matter what identity we use on the outside, we are all one. We all have souls, we all have paths we will walk in this life, whether we choose them or they are chosen for us.
It is, as such, important to treat other people as you yourself wish to be treated. This is not just about the people around you, your friends family and co-workers, this is the general notion of people.
We are inundated with stories of people mistreating people all the time. Whether we are talking about terrorists killing to expand fear, or racists and bigots threatening civil liberties, or slave larborers, or children abused and neglected; the bad news is virtually inescapable.
What’s worse is that we wind up calling out whole groups of people based upon fear and discomfort and the differences between us. We sometimes see bad beyond the incredibly small number of perpetrators of that bad in whole groups of bad people.
I believe that most people want to feel empowered. That’s what all of it comes down to. Some people see empowerment by doing things for themselves and taking the initiative to improve their lives. Some people think that they can rely on people outside of themselves to provide them with that empowerment. And then there are some people who feel they are empowered by disempowering others.
As much as I wish to choose and walk my own path in this life, I recognize there are people who actually prefer to let others choose for them. Why not? Sometimes it does look like it will be a whole lot easier to let other people choose for us, and to direct our lives so that we don’t have to deal with it.
I understand that for some people, they simply don’t want to have the responsibility to empower themselves. It is not easy, it can be frustrating, it can be infuriating sometimes. It can be especially complicated when you are faced with numerous obstacles both tangible and intangible to overcome.
Some people have been so hurt that they feel any sense of empowerment is not something they can do for themselves. Too much pain, too much suffering, so they would rather just give it over to another.
I believe that happiness comes from within, not from without. I can’t rely on anyone else to make me happy, I have to find it in myself first. I have had a lot of experiences over my lifetime that have shown me this, and I share this notion every week because I believe that in doing so, I can help others on their paths with the struggles we inevitably all encounter.
I say that overall I am not a judgmental person. For the most part, this is true. However, I still manage to get myself caught up in the fervor of the negative news. There are organizations and groups that I will point to and express my opinion as to their position in this world. I say things about them that perpetuate and frankly expand the problem.
Terrorists are individuals. Politicians are individuals. Each one has chosen their own path, and though in many instances I thoroughly disagree with that choice there is probably very little I can do to dissuade those individuals. They alone can make that choice.
Unfortunately many of these individuals strive to disempower others in the process of empowering themselves. Though every individual can choose for themselves how they wish to live their life, it is never right to disempower others in the process. You don’t empower yourself by taking power away from others.
Frankly, the opposite is true – empowerment of the self is empowering to others, and you gain far more by helping others than you do by taking. Building up is far more powerful than knocking down. Sometimes knocking down looks easier, but once you’ve knocked something down you have no structure, and the process of rebuilding can be fraught with challenges. Whereas if you are building something up, you have structure and more to go on.
Your path is not my path, but I will encourage you to do what you feel you need to do for your life.
I am going to break from my normal means of Pathwalking to address something I have been recently disturbed by. In reaction to the recent terror attacks in Paris, several politicians have expressed their unwillingness to take in refugees.
Here is the tie-in to Pathwalking: The refugees have fled rather than sacrifice the ability to choose paths for themselves. Instead of remaining in a war-torn, bombed-out nation where they must choose between bad and worse, they have given up the lives they know to choose a new path. They didn’t flee to spread more terror around the world, the fled to get away from it and start over. Rather than be disempowered by others they chose a very hard and difficult path to empowerment.
As I walk my own path, I do not do so ignoring the paths of others, no matter their circumstances. I also know that there are far, far more difficult and heart-wrenching paths to be chosen, and I respect that no matter how great or small it may be.
How do you view the paths of others?
This is the two-hundred third entry in my series. These weekly posts are ideas and my personal experiences in walking along the path of life. I share this journey as part of my personal desire to make a difference in this world along the way.
Thank you for joining me. Feel free to re-blog and share.
The first year of Pathwalking, including some expanded ideas, is available in print and for your Kindle.
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