sapientbreeze

In life, many paths exist for each person to take. These paths are made up of decisions made throughout life: some take you higher, others lower. The Path is not “a” path in the strictest sense of the word, but instead its the ongoing commitment of making decisions that take you higher. You are therefore “on The Path” while in the midst of making decisions that take you higher.

Perhaps you’ve felt it before – that feeling that only comes from doing your best. There is a sense of unshakable inner confidence that comes with walking The Path that allows you to stand taller and remain calm despite outter chaos. The obvious question might arise to those new to this way of thinking: “who decides what is best, and what takes me higher?” For every obvious question there’s an obvious answer: you decide, of course.

Should you seek your Path, you must first seek truth. You should strive to see truth in both the world around you as well as yourself. I say strive, for seeing truth in a permanent sense is impossible without constant vigilance and consistent inner work. The very biology of human kind has been optimized over millions of years to prioritize survival in a dangerous world… this leaves our capacity for finding meaning amid peace limited at best. We are wired for conflict and self preservation, but what happens when there is no conflict, and the self is more than nature intended?

This is why it is work, for only with conscious effort can you use all this time and peace to be the best version of yourself. This is the Path – and to find it you must first find yourself. The self that rises to the surface when struggle presents itself, the person you are when you’re alone and not performing for others. Find what truly matters to you… this will never be about money, or material possessions. Often times, we need to hit a low point in life to figure out what truly matters… for when you almost lose everything, you figure out what really matters. This doesn’t have to be – there are plenty of practices to avoid waiting for rock bottom to figure this out, but for now know that being honest with yourself is much harder than you think it is.

Once you have a strong sense for what matters, you must use this as a framework for making choices that take you higher. Does this action promote, protect, or prioritize that which truly matters? This is not something you can actively decide in the moment, but something to reflect on in moments of quiet or stillness. Often, taking lower paths will leave you feeling noticeablely worse… especially when you start to actively walk the Path. You will find that the decisions you make actually feel good or bad intrinsically. You can get there if you are willing to work for it!

As you find your way, know that the meditation, periods of mindfulness or stillness are necessary- life now is so noisy and distracting, that you must seek quiet often to find truth. This is no judgment of you, but rather the modern day jungle humans must survive. As such, there is a high likelihood you are on your phone too much, watch too much TV (or other devices), and spend much of your life plagued by negative thoughts and self condemnations. This is our world, learn to accept that, and not judge anyone who is stuck in the false promise of modern-day life.

Know that every post here is ultimately guidance on walking the Path. Bettering yourself will always be in service of what truly matters, but a lot of people who better themselves forget that they why is just as important as the what. This drives people to do something “good” for themselves, but to overdo it to the point of self harm. This could be working so hard at your job that you don’t see your children, or working out so rigorously that you harm your vitality or even cut your life short. This is why you must always be asking yourself honestly if what you are doing is taking you higher: doing the right thing is not simple, and is unknowable if you cannot be honest with yourself. Strive to be honest a with yourself in all things.

In addition to being honest with yourself, another lesson that feels relevant. Strive to let go of judgment towards others. In time, it will be obvious that judging others is only judgment towards yourself. Seek to understand those that you feel compelled to judge: there is likely a lesson in there for you. We only judge those who are exhibiting aspects that we ourselves have yet to assimilate into our sense of self… to put it simply, we don’t yet see that it’s part of us. If you can replace judgment with compassion, you will inevitably bring that same compassion to yourself. That is how you heal, and once that part of you is assimilated it will bother you no longer.