Pathwalking 15

It’s a trap!

A lot of people believe that this entire concept – consciousness creating reality, the law of attraction, the power of positive thinking, etcetera – is nothing more than hooky-spooky, crunchy hippy, new-agey bullshit.  They think life happens, you cannot direct it, control it, you can only do your part, do your job, and get on with it.  All this feel-good reality creationism is ludicrous drivel.

This is the easiest trap to fall into.  Especially when you are part of this routine:  Get up, go to work so you can earn money to pay the bills you have to live as you choose.  Do your job, no matter how annoying, demeaning, degrading – you HAVE to work, you HAVE to earn money, or you’re another drain on society.  Go home.  Sleep.  Repeat the cycle tomorrow.

Oh, and while you’re at it, you also need to find a way to establish some sort of social circle(s), an emotional/sexual relationship with someone, create and raise a family, and still exercise, sleep eight hours a night, and eat normal, healthy square meals.  And don’t buck the system, while you’re at it.

We are awake anywhere from twelve to eighteen hours a day, or more.  And we are expected to spend AT LEAST eight of those hours at some sort of job, so that we ‘earn our keep’ and ‘play our part’ as a productive member of society.  Anywhere from two thirds to one quarter of any given day we spend in this cycle.  Is it any wonder we fall into this trap, and find it hard to get out again?

I am not advocating we all quit our jobs, form communes together and spend our days in meditation or combing beaches or singing alleluia or kumbaya.  While that has certain advantages, that’s a trap of a whole different type.  No, what I am advocating here is that we recognize that we can have more from our lives – and we can choose to make more of them.

If I am spending anywhere from one quarter to two thirds of my day in a single place – don’t I deserve to be content, or even happy there?  Don’t I have a right to do something that is of my own choosing?  Is there any reason I can’t both be a ‘productive member of society’ AND walk a path of my own choosing?

Of course not.  I have every right to demand more from my life.  There are more than enough mindless drones trapped in their routine – why should I be?  Why should you be?  And really – why should anyone be?

Some people neglect to take power over their lives because it is scary.  It is full of uncertainty.  Some people just don’t get past the point in childhood where you seek, desire and NEED direction from others (elders, parents, teachers, etc).  So they look to others to make their lives for them – and that, really, is the greatest trap of all.

Parents, teachers, religious leaders, politicians – they are NO DIFFERENT from me and you.  THEY make decisions, they make choices – and while they can provide you with guidance and feedback, ultimately, it is YOUR life, YOUR decisions, YOUR choices.  And while some direction from others can be helpful, it should not be the last word.  Yes, that can be really really easy – but it also denies you control over your own existence.

The next time you seek guidance from without, consider if that guidance empowers you to make your own choices, or robs you of them.  Avoid the trap of letting the ideals, actions and morals of others dictate your life.  Take your power.  Find your happiness.  Walk your own path.

This is hard.  It takes effort.  It will often feel like you are going against the grain, against the current.  But the more we practice, the more we make the effort to walk a path of our own choosing, the easier it becomes.  The effort pays off, and we learn to empower ourselves.

The reward is worth it.  Because the ultimate reward is to be happy.  And don’t we all deserve to be happy with our lives?

This is the fifteenth 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.