Pathwalking 227
Pathwalking is in no way a selfish act.
Yes, I am working on living a life of my own choosing. But I am not doing anything that is selfish in the process. In fact, I believe that in working to choose and walk my own paths, I am a better listener, friend and confidant.
How can you be doing more for yourself but still suggest you do more for others?
None of this is about quantity. On the contrary, this is really all about quality.
In choosing my own destiny and walking my own paths I am working on improving the quality of my life and the experiences I am having. When my life is more as I would want it to be, I feel better about it. When I feel better, I can offer more to my friends and loved ones because I have more to give.
We are taught that it is important to be selfless. That we should give as much and then more of ourselves to others because that in turn makes us better. That we should not keep for ourselves when we can give to others.
And that right there is the biggest problem. People do not realize then when you are giving from an empty vessel, you’re not giving out much of anything at all.
It’s all well and good to give and give and give, but when you have nothing for yourself, how can you have anything to give away? This is illogical because it’s an important truth.
We need to have energy, we need to have the ability to cope, we need to have power of our own in order to share or even to give it away. We need to be complete before we attempt to provide completeness to others. We need to feel feelings before we share or give them to others.
So Pathwalking is about building your own destiny. When you are building, you in theory can build plenty of extras, so you would then have more to give.
You have to have something instead of nothing, before you attempt to share or give to others. It is better for you, and for the people you want to help or otherwise effect when you are not running on empty.
Another important aspect of this is the idea of sacrifice. In addition to believing that we should be selfless, we are also taught by some that we should sacrifice for the good of others. We should go without if it means that someone else is not wanting.
This poses several issues. The first is the implication that the Universe is limited. That there is only a limited supply of things, whether tangible or intangible. That there is just enough or that there is not enough of whatever the thing is for everyone.
This is simply untrue. The Universe is abundant. It is infinite. As such, limitations are wholly our own creations.
I am sure an argument can be made about limited amounts of tangible goods. I believe that in an abundant Universe even the tangible only is limited if we make it so.
The second issue sacrifice poses is the notion that it is better to go without for the good of another. Is it really? Because I would think that it doesn’t really do either of us any good for either of us to go without.
Sacrifice does not make us better people. Why? Because usually with sacrifice comes resentment. I had the thing, then I gave it up so YOU could have the thing, and I am perturbed because I don’t know if you are sufficiently grateful for my sacrifice. Would you do the same if our roles were reversed?
This is a part of human nature. But it is also why it is folly to give when we haven’t anything TO give, and why sacrifice does not serve.
It is important to strike a balance. Share. Give, but not so much that you are sacrificing. Make choices that will be beneficial to everyone.
I certainly haven’t all the answers, but I think that I can prove Pathwalking is not a selfish act.
Do you give from a place of plenty or from a place of lack?
GOAL LOG – Week 17:
Diet: I continue tracking my intake, and I’m seeing there is still improvement in my choices and portions.
Exercise: Fencing happened twice last week, plus one trip to the gym and a lot of walking.
Writing: Four days of writing and editing.
Meditation: I spent at least 6 minutes meditating five days last week.
Gratitude: I wrote out 5 or 6 things to be grateful for every day last week.
This is the two-hundred twenty seventh 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 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 here.
If you enjoy Pathwalking, you may also want to read my Five Easy Steps to Change the World for the Better.
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