How Do I Still Walk My Chosen Path During All This?

Every day is its own.

A person forging a path in the snow. Give yourself the love, courage, and permission to walk your chosen path. — *Photo by Dawid Zawiła on Unsplash*

I made a choice to spend way, way less time on social media. Granted, I had already reduced my social media usage over the past couple of years. Now, though, even that time is being cut way down.

Yes, you can still find me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and BlueSky. Hell, despite that new (but not surprising) issues with Meta, I’m doing click-testing with ads as part of a course to help improve my marketing.

Why am I decreasing my personal use of social media otherwise? For the sake of my sanity. Yes, I want to stay abreast of the news so that I am not blindsided by what’s happening. But regarding my mental, emotional, spiritual, and ultimately physical health/wellness/wellbeing, I don’t need to see it constantly.

Yes, there are very good reasons to be afraid. I know that we need to keep up the conversation because not doing so is a form of complacency. Especially in the face of some truly unkind, hateful, and downright evil actions on the part of the new American administration. Knowledge is power and empowerment, after all.

Lamenting every little detail, stewing over the increasing injustice, and getting worked up over the daily fuckery, however, is unhealthy. That’s because, to be blunt, there’s nothing I can do about it here and now.

So, I will continue to work on my craft, share my thoughts on mindfulness, conscious reality creation, and the like, and walk my chosen path.

What if it feels wrong?

Therein lies the rub. With all the bullshit happening in the world today, it feels like I’m doing a disservice by walking my chosen path during all this. How can I pursue my art in the face of so much injustice, hatred, bigotry, and the rest?

Because apart from giving it my time and energy, analyzing it to death, soaking it up like a sponge, right now there’s not a damned thing I can do.

I voted in the last election. If needs be I’ll attend protests like I have before. If it feels right, I’ll donate money to those organizations fighting for all those increasingly being disregarded and marginalized. I’ll vote in all the elections ahead.

That’s all I can do. Right here, right now, I can’t do jack shit for anyone else. That’s a harsh truth, and I hate it. But there’s nothing I can do here and now about it.

Even recognizing, acknowledging, and knowing this, it feels wrong. How can I pursue my path and strive for my goals in the face of this insanity?

The answer is this: Because today is another day. All you control is your life experience. You can choose to work with it, against it, or for it. You either live your life subconsciously and cede control to this, that, or the other thing – Or – employ active conscious awareness and mindfulness to choose and walk your path.

Give yourself the love, courage, and permission to walk your chosen path. — *Photo by Kostiantyn Vierkieiev on Unsplash*

How to still walk my chosen path during all this

First, an important truth. It is in no way, shape, or form selfish to choose and walk your own chosen path.

The reason why is this: Because every day is its own. You can’t live in the past because it has come and gone. Likewise, you can’t live in the future because it’s unknown and unwritten. Hence, the only time in which you are at all in control, and can genuinely, consciously, mindfully live is now.

Here and now, this moment in time, is the only moment that is wholly, fully, truly real. At this moment you can make choices and decisions to be who, what, where, how, and why you are. You can choose and decide your way and walk your chosen path.

How? By starting with active conscious awareness. Mindfulness. This is comprised of inner and outer components.

First and foremost, there are the inner components. This is what’s in your head, heart, and soul. To know this, you must become consciously aware, in the present, of:

What you’re thinking
How and what you’re feeling
What your intentions are
If your approach to things is positive or negative, and
What actions you take

This gets coupled with the outside components. That’s employing your six senses to be situationally aware here and now via sight, sound, taste, touch, smell, and instinct. In this way, you engage active conscious awareness – i.e., mindfulness.

Note – this only works for you. This can’t be done for anyone other than yourself. That’s because you alone are in your head, heart, and soul. Just like nobody else is in yours, you can’t be anyone else’s.

From there, via active conscious awareness, you can make choices and decisions to walk your chosen path.

There is one last important consideration here.

Give yourself permission to walk your chosen path

If you’re anything like me, this currently feels wrong. In the face of this insanity in the world, it feels selfish.

Here’s the thing – are you causing anyone intentional hurt and harm? (Intentional is important – ending a relationship will cause hurt/harm, but that’s not why you do it, so the hurt/harm isn’t intentional). Will this deny someone rights, cookies, or otherwise include you taking more than your fair share? Will you willfully ignore and push past and through people to get what you want?

If you answered no to all of these, then you are not in any way being selfish. Selfishness is willfully causing distress and harm to have your way and not giving a shit about anyone else.

You are the only one who can live your life. Thus, you’re the only one who can choose and then walk your chosen path. It might be awkward, and it might feel wrong, but if you don’t choose to act today, then when? You can’t act from the past and the future is uncertain. So, give yourself the love, courage, and permission to walk your chosen path.

You are ultimately worthy and deserving of this. And guess what? When you walk your chosen path with kindness, compassion, and empathy, it can positively impact and empower others.

I find that utterly worthwhile. How about you?

This is the six-hundred-eighty-third (683) exploration of my Pathwalking philosophy. These weekly essays are my ideas for – and experiences with – applying mindfulness and positivity to walk along a chosen path of life to consciously create reality.

I share this journey as part of my desire to make a difference in this world and empower as many people as I can with conscious reality creation.

Thank you for joining me. Feel free to re-post and share this.

The first year of Pathwalking, including expanded ideas, is available here. Check out my author website for the rest of my published fiction and nonfiction works.

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