The Path

“You cannot travel the path until you have become the path itself"...(Buddha). You always know you are on the correct path in life when everything just feels right. I have heard others recount how everything in their lives was a mess until they started following their hearts and then like magic, everything becomes easier. In all of the years I have been counseling, people often seek help when they are struggling with pain, resistance, and confusion on their path in life. For many, once they have some insight and clarity, they stop fighting what they have been feeling and everything begins to change. I have watched many people get back into alignment of their hearts desires after going through very painful but illuminating lessons in life. Some will choose to stay in pain because it's all they know and sometimes it just seems easier. It is not easier, it's just a form of turning a blind eye to all that you are afraid to see. If you don't allow yourself to see, then something better doesn't exist from that limited perspective. All that is however is fear of the unknown and surrendering to a life of pain. Some struggle with such deep seated issues of guilt, suffering and the bondage of unworthiness, that escape may seem impossible. With each step on our path however, there is always a renewed opportunity to change, grow and release the chains of the past. Someone asked me recently to describe the pain I experienced as a child. It was quite liberating to tell my story without feeling that it defines me any longer. Those were experiences I went through and grew from, but they don't define me any longer. Our hearts and souls define us, not the various roles, traumas and lessons we've learned along the way. How those things teach us and what we choose to gain or lose from those lessons is up to us. I love hearing people talk about their stories because I learn real quickly how much baggage from the past they are still carrying with them. It's written all over their demeanor, body language, words they use and even in their eyes. Here are several interesting quotes about walking our path. “The stages of the Noble Path are: Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Behavior, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration"...(Buddha). "Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen, few in pursuit of the goal"...(Friedrich Nietzsche). “As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives"...(Henry David Thoreau). "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail"...(Ralph Waldo Emerson). What kind of path are you walking? Are your footsteps light and joyful or are they heavy and burdened? Are you enjoying the path, curious and excited about what lies ahead or are you anxious and worried about the future, never really taking in the view. Is the past being carried with you, like a heavy bag upon your shoulders? Are you dragging your feet, complaining about anything and everything or are you skipping and singing along the way. It's your journey and your path and how you walk it is up to you.