Pathwalking 36
Pathwalking is about choice. It is about being active instead of reactive. And it is about empowering the self.
Empowerment often scares people. The idea of power has been twisted and skewed in such a way that we often view it as a negative. But empowerment of the self is healthy, and a central aspect of Pathwalking.
The line “power corrupts” is constantly emphasized in our society. You cannot look at a modern election and NOT have that thought. Big business, organized religion, government…these are all too often perfect examples of that.
But there is a reason. The reason is because in taking their own power, they disempower. They strive to hold all power to themselves, and not share. They strive to control, to dictate, and to interfere in our own empowerment.
We see it pretty frequently. You must work overtime if you expect to get a raise. Worship god as the church commands, or you will go to hell. Vote for me to stop him from taking your rights away. They inundate us with similar messages, taking empowerment away from you and me to increase their own power.
This is not a call to anarchy. This is about self-empowerment. This is about not outright ignoring these messages, but about making informed choices about them. We have people we work for, religious institutions we participate in, and the freedom to make choices in the political system. How we act and react within these organizations makes the difference between empowerment and disempowerment.
Even in the process of Pathwalking, we cannot entirely remove ourselves from the system, from the world. We have homes, we have jobs, we have debts and responsibilities most of us cannot simply abandon. But how we live within that framework, how we make choices is the very nature of the Pathwalking process.
This might come across as contrary to previous posts on this topic. But while Pathwalking is a fairly idealistic notion, I want to share that it can also work inside of stark reality.
Aspects of this concept are grandiose. I want to choose the life I want. I want the career, the love, the abundance I desire. I am going to make choices that will help get me to that place. However, while I am at work on this process, I cannot ignore that there are bills to pay, and no matter what choices I make, outside forces far beyond my control.
Which brings me to the minute, and frankly more important aspects of this concept. When all is said and done, I want to be the one choosing. And the reason I want to make choices is because I want to be happy. I do not believe I am in this world just to carry on, react to whatever happens around me and be a simple cog in the machine. But even when circumstances dictate that that’s all I am able to be, I deserve to be content, and to be happy.
When not discussing Pathwalking in this blog, I often discuss what I call “topical ranting”. This takes on all kinds of grand social and political happenings, as I analyze the world around me. I often suggest ways to cope or deal with seemingly insurmountable issues. Part of why I write these things has to do with MY specific path. I want to show people that there is more to life than our often narrow, closed-in view of the world.
Pathwalking in particular is the focus on choice, the focus on opening one’s self to empowerment, to finding your bliss. I personally find dissatisfaction with working in a gargantuan corporation as a petty functionary. I want what I do to mean more not just for myself, but for the people I encounter. I don’t want to sway people to my way of thinking, per se…I want them to think and choose for themselves.
I want you to see your own power. I want you to be open to your own empowerment. I want to help you see that empowerment is not something to be feared, and that taking action instead of reaction to life is your right, not something you have to earn.
Empowerment is taking power for the self. Not to abuse, not to laud over others, but to choose, decide, and act on life. It is knowing that you are a creator, and that you should not fear that. Empowerment should not be given away to others; but it should be shared.
And this brings us to the topic of abundance. Too many of us see lack, see limits, see that there is only so much of ‘x’. But there is enough power for everyone to be empowered. The need of some to deny empowerment to others is based in fear. Fear makes them horde power, makes for greed, makes for stinginess and denying others what they want.
Those of us walking our own path need to remember to empower ourselves, and not get caught up in the fears of these others. We need to show the world that empowering the self helps not just the individual, but the world at large.
Every grand idea began as a smaller one. And I believe that everyone deserves to find their own bliss, their own happiness, their own empowerment.
Who chooses for you how you live your life?
This is the thirty-sixth 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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