Pathwalking 103
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein.
As a Pathwalker, I choose my path every day. I have a course plotted, an idea in my head for where I am, where I want to be, and even how I want to get there. As I have stated before, there are numerous twists, turns, bumps in the road, diversions and other incidentals that will occur along any given path.
As much as it is important to accept and make what you can of any such obstacles, it is equally important to recognize when the path you have chosen may in fact be wrong.
Sometimes these encounters along the journey will alter and shift a course without actually changing it; but sometimes they are omens and portents of a need to rethink and maybe even choose anew the path you are on.
Another important thing to take into account is that at any given time, you are likely not on a single path, but multiple paths. While often this can be a harmonious pursuit, sometimes there are conflicts between the paths you are on that require attention and subsequent adjustment.
When you walk a path, and it does not work out as you wish, sometimes you need to give it another go. However, in particular if you are stubborn and willful, it may be that you need to recognize that this path is not the right path, and you need to stop trying to walk it, and choose another.
You have been telling me for almost two years that I can make whatever choice I want. Now you are telling me that I might be wrong? Why bother if I cannot get it right? Why bother to Pathwalk? Doubt is a part of the human condition. Cynicism and skepticism are to be expected from an aware mind. The key to Pathwalking is not success of the path, it is making the choice to take your own path. It is choice and control of your own destiny.
If I have made a choice to take a path, I am Pathwalking. If that path is not getting me to the intended goal, and I choose to continue on the same path, I am Pathwalking. If I disregard or underplay issues I see with my path and continue along it unchanged, I am Pathwalking. If I choose not to change the path I am on, I have made the choice, and am still Pathwalking.
This is where I have to acknowledge that not all my choices are perfect. I am only human, I cannot foresee everything ahead of me in any given situation. I may be taking responsibility for my choices and control of my life, but that does not guarantee that the choices I make are good, or correct, or right. It is wholly possible that I am making the same poor choice(s) again and again, expecting different results; and while that has me Pathwalking, I may not be doing so effectively.
Every single day you make choices. Every single day you are faced with decisions that will have greater or lesser impacts on your life. But you cannot always know if the choices you make are the right choices, are the best or worst choices, are good or ill, are right or wrong or somewhere in between the extremes.
It may take a while to see and then recognize that the path you are on is not working. When and if you reach such a point, it is up to you to be accountable, and decide whether or not to continue on the same wavelength, or to start something different or new.
It begins with recognition. I’m on a path that is not making me happy or this path is not getting me any closer to my goal or this is not an enjoyable journey. When you recognize this, it goes to accountability. I am making this choice. For good or ill this is where I have brought myself. I am here because I put myself here.
After you recognize and take responsibility for an issue with the path you are on, it goes to action. I need to choose a new direction or I need to continue, but with these changes or it is even possible that the answer is I need to continue this same path. Whatever the answer may be, you have recognized and gotten back into communication with yourself.
I have said before, and will likely say again: it is VERY important that you ask yourself How am I, how do I feel, what am I thinking and similar questions regularly. This simple but necessary step will help you to see more clearly where you are in relation to where you want to be and where you are going.
Pathwalking is hard work. Plain and simple. It is not easy – but I firmly believe that nothing worth truly having is easy. It is not a one-time operation, it is a constant activity. But despite imperfections and flaws and twists and turns and bumps and obstacles and so on and so forth, Pathwalking is still how I want to choose for my own life, my own fate, my own destiny.
Lastly, remember that one of the main reasons to make your own choices, take your own control and walk your own path is to be happy. No one can be happy all the time, but there is a contentedness and satisfaction that is true happiness that comes of knowing you are in control and choosing to live life on your own terms, rather than anyone else’s.
Are you on paths now that make you happy?
This is the one-hundred third entry in my series. These weekly posts are specifically about walking along the path of life, and my desire to make a difference in this world along the way. Thank you for joining me.
The first year of Pathwalking is available in print and for your Kindle.
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