Pathwalking 193
Why have you chosen the path you are on?
Whether or not you are consciously Pathwalking, why have you chosen whatever path you are on?
This is a surprisingly important question that all-too-often gets waylaid. We know there are paths we want to walk in life, but why do we want to walk them?
Pathwalking is about choosing your own destiny. It is about taking control over your life and finding what makes you happy. Because, when all is said and done, finding happiness and joy is really what most people are after in this life.
So the question of why this path is important. Did you choose this path because you thought it would make you happy? Or did you choose this path because of someone else, or some outside influence?
Yes, I recognize that there are necessities in life. We need to work jobs to make money so that we can have places to live and food to eat and all that important stuff. What I am constantly surprised by is how readily we accept mediocrity, how we do not resist control exerted by forces way, way outside of our general scope.
What does that mean? As I skim through Facebook and Twitter, I am constantly reading negative posts all about government injustice, religious intolerance, hatred, bigotry, inequality and many other terrible things. In the United States we have an important election coming up in fourteen months or so, and it is already being hijacked by levels of partisanship and outright insanity that can nearly cause physical pain.
Yes, all of these things ARE important. We need to know when we are being swindled, when there is injustice and the people we should be cautious of. However, these are, when you get down to it, distractions from our paths.
When you focus on these big picture events, when you get upset about these national and global problems, you give away your empowerment. You cede your thoughts and emotions over to faceless, nameless powers that will do nothing, when all is said and done, to better your life and help you to choose a path.
What has this got to do with the why of the path you choose? Are you aware of the path you are on, or are you focused on these other, seemingly bigger things? I think most of us let ourselves be distracted by these larger-than-life matters, and as such ignore our own paths, our own lives and the choices that matter.
Utter selfishness. No, actually, it’s not. Who knows me better than I do? Who knows you better than you? We alone know ourselves, and as such we alone know that we want to choose paths for ourselves, and more importantly WHY we want to choose the paths we are on.
We all need to step back, and stop letting these immense insanities dominate our processes. We need to tighten our focus on finding our own, individual joy and happiness, because when all is said and done that is the only thing we truly can take control over.
You can write letters to the people “in charge”, you can choose to vote for certain politicians in the election, and you should at least have awareness of what all is going in out there. But focusing so much energy on these matters that we have next to no control over does nothing but distract us from Pathwalking.
So – why have you chosen the path you are on? Will this path make you happy? Because the most important thing we can do is to find ways to discover and experience joy. Yes, we need to “earn a living” and to “contribute to society” and other such matters, but we cannot ignore ourselves. It is not selfish to desire to be happy, to look for joy in life.
Why isn’t it selfish? Because when we are happier and more joyful, we can more easily make those around us more happy and joyful. When we are more able to find contentment and satisfaction over discontent and dissatisfaction, we empower ourselves. When we are more empowered, people will take notice, and we can then help them to empower themselves.
When we focus on these larger-than-life situations out there, we are just distracting ourselves and those who are reading along with us from walking our paths, and from discovering what we truly want to have in life.
I cannot deny that it is a challenge to walk the line between being informed and being deluged in information. When you find that you are researching situations you can do nothing about instead of working on your own paths, you will find that you are inattentive to your own emotional and probably spiritual needs.
So I should just ignore all that stuff and it will go away? No, but unless you can take some form of action, why focus on these things? Know about them, but like negative emotions you can choose whether or not to let them linger. Do what you can if you feel the need. Write a letter, fire off an angry e mail to those politicians, and vote for better leaders when the election comes. Otherwise, does putting focus on these things help you walk your path?
When you have clarity, and you know why you are choosing the paths you choose, you will find that uncovering happiness and joy and satisfaction in life is easier. It is also more fulfilling, and more empowering. I don’t know anyone who does not want to feel accomplished and in control of their life and their choices, so knowing why you want what you want is as important as walking the path to get to the end goal.
Do you know why you have chosen the path you are on?
This is the one-hundred ninety third entry in my series. These weekly posts are specifically about walking along the path of life, and my personal desire to make a difference in this world along the way. Feel free to re-blog and share. Thank you for joining me.
The first year of Pathwalking, including some expanded ideas, is available in print and for your Kindle.
Follow me here!
