Pathwalking 120
Recently I read The Fifth Agreement by Don Miguel Ruiz and his son Don Jose Ruiz. This is the follow up to the wildly popular book The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.
These two books present the idea that we come into this life open, but along the way we make “agreements” with how to live. We relinquish control to outside influences, and we allow our belief system to be massively complicated and colored by the world we live in.
The concept of these books is to help the reader to gain control of their life, to better choose how to live it. This is very much in line with Pathwalking.
The five agreements are as follows:
1.) Be impeccable with your word
2.) Don’t take anything personal
3.) Don’t make assumptions
4.) Always do your best.
5.) Be skeptical, but learn to listen
The basic concepts stated in the five agreements are completely inline with Pathwalking. While the whole Toltec vision and approach may not work for everyone, these five ideas can have a profound impact on your everyday life.
For the purpose of Pathwalking, let’s look at how these would work.
Be impeccable with your word. I translate that to mean be true to yourself. Don’t tell tall tales, don’t speak ill of others, don’t be a liar, don’t make promises you cannot keep – be true. It is amazing how easy it is to let your thoughts about others derail how you view the world – being impeccable with your word and watching not only how you speak, but how you THINK can make a pretty huge difference in walking your Path.
Don’t take anything personal. This is very straightforward. When others judge you, or treat you unfairly, or are outright mean to you, they are often projecting their own prejudices and viewpoints. Most of the time this isn’t targeted at you in a personal manner, so you should not dwell upon it and let it affect how you go about in your life. How many times in Pathwalking have I expressed this along the way?
Don’t make assumptions. This is huge. We look at the world in a certain way, we think we know how certain things work, how tab ‘a’ fits into slot ‘b’, and we assume based on our pre-existing knowledge similar situations will fit that mold. One of the tenets of Pathwalking is choice. We are choosing the life we want, and in the process breaking molds and norms and such frequently. I am always on the lookout for the assumptions others make about me and my choices – but it is probably more important I not make assumptions about others, either. Everything is unique, and even similar experiences are never perfectly the same.
Always do your best. I think this can be readily interpreted as Yoda states, “Do or do not, there is no try.” Don’t half-ass things, don’t give lip service to effort, do the best you can. You will get far more satisfaction from fully living than half-way living.
Be skeptical, but learn to listen. These ideas, whether you choose to see them as tenets, philosophies, abstract concepts, hokum or however else you view them – these ideas should not just be taken with a grain of salt. Consider them. Do these ideas resonate with you, or do they sit badly with your mindset and approach to life? Listen to all the ideas, but skeptically. Think about it, consider it, but take it with a grain of salt and don’t outright accept it.
There is a wisdom in these five ideas that is very much in line with the philosophy of Pathwalking. The “Agreements” presented by Don Miguel Ruiz and Don Jose Ruiz align well with my own way of seeing the universe, and how I wish to live my life and walk my own path.
I do, however, recommend reading both The Four Agreements and The Fifth Agreement. They contain a large amount of great information, and go much deeper into these five notions that I will do here.
What tenets do you take most to heart along your path?
Please note – it is with utter respect and gratitude that I cite the works of Don Miguel Ruiz and Don Jose Ruiz here. The Five Agreements above are wholly theirs, and I am only presenting them here as a compliment to my own Pathwalking philosophy. I in no way claim any credit in their creation and presentation. Should there be any legal issues with my sharing them here and associating them with Pathwalking, I will remove this post.
Thank you, Don Miguel Ruiz and Don Jose Ruiz.
This is the one-hundred twentieth 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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