Pathwalking 12
I have long said that there are three ways to exist in this life.
The first is to let life live YOU. You go about your day-to-day business, let the pattern carry you along, let life happen to you. No real control, you just go with what happens. This is REALLY easy – but not tremendously rewarding.
The second is to curl up in a ball, and wait to die. This is not just a literal thing – I believe that spending all of THIS life preparing for the NEXT life is the same thing. I’m sorry, but if you think we are only here to prepare to be somewhere else – why are we here? Some people don’t deal because it is so very complicated and difficult – they just wait for it to end, in one way or another.
The third is what this whole Pathwalking concept is all about. Grab the proverbial bull that is life by the horns, and hang on and take it for a ride! Choose your goals, choose your path, choose to see life for all it potential, possibility, and excitement.
Of course this is not an easy choice. Effort, focus must be made in order to succeed. You have to also deal with all the failed attempts, the bad days, the disappointments…and you have to not let them stop you.
I have been attempting to walk my own path a long time now. Probably consciously since the accident that changed my life nearly eleven and a half years ago, if not just before then. I have made many attempts to take control, and have it my way. And on the surface – I will not deny – it looks like more often than not I have failed.
My primary mistake, when all is said and done, is that I tried. “But,” you might argue, “isn’t that the point?” No. The point is to DO. If all I do is TRY, then nothing is accomplished. I can DO the things necessary to walk my own path – or I can TRY to do them.
And once more, I have to observe the wisdom of Yoda: “Try not. Do or do not…there is no try.” Amazing how true the words of a Muppet ring. For some additional clarity I turn to Dictionary.com: Try = to attempt to do or accomplish. Do = to execute (a piece or amount of work). Attempt vs. execute. Which one, do you think, is the more effective?
I think, for me, trying has been a matter of my ability to consider, think about, and logic out the how of the path I should care to walk. BUT, and this is the problem, the doing is the emotional end – and as mentioned in a prior entry, the emotion is what you need to make these things happen.
As such – how do I DO, rather than TRY? This is the crux of the next few weeks for me.
First – I am writing down WHAT I WANT. I am really looking at what it is I truly want…and I am going to look at it daily. I am going to visualize the life I want, and I am going to feel what that feels like.
Second – I am writing down mood shifters. What on earth is that? A mood shifter is something that I will put my focus on, in order to clear my mind when I am focused on negative things – annoyances with my job and family, feeling blue, feeling blah, exhausted. When I am allowing myself to be overwhelmed by the things not in my control, I will remember things that make me feel good, and shift my focus to them.
Third – I will avoid making negative statements. This is going to be tough – I really need to watch my attitude and my words closely to make this happen. I need to stay out of the negative conversations with coworkers and family and friends, and try to give my energies to more useful things.
Fourth – I will not hide from feeling. I will ask myself “How am I feeling?” and really pay attention to the answer. Rather than avoid feeling – I will allow myself to know what I feel, and if it is not what I want, work on fixing it.
Yes, this is, for some, kind of out there. You may be saying to yourself – “seriously, dude? Do you really think thinking positive and focusing on good things will make that much of a difference?” I have stated before that I acknowledge there will be bad days, and that there are things out of my control – but rather than just let myself be carried along by the current, I’m going to swim. And I do believe that a positive attitude begets more good and success than a negative one.
I will execute this plan, rather than just make an attempt. And I will keep you abreast of my progress.
This week I leave you with one last thought, from Theodore Hertzl, credited by many as the father of the current nation of Israel – “If you will it, it is no dream.”
This is the twelfth 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.
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