Trust The Path You’re On

A wise teacher/mentor once taught me something: when we think we’ve fallen off our path, in truth, that’s when we are truly walking upon it.

The hard work of living is no easy task. Add to that the desire to live with purpose or follow a certain path, and we can get ourselves into a situation where we feel like we’re chasing our own tails. But when that little voice shows up in my head, telling me I’m not doing enough, or that my path should be more, more… just “more,” I try to remember my teachers lesson.

Because it’s true… even when I feel like I’m going in circles, when I think I’ve lost my way, I can step back and recognize that everything I do is part of my path.

Now, it’s one thing to say this. It’s another to believe it. I’ve spent many a day trying to convince myself of the truth in this lesson. I’ve gone round and round in my head about what I am doing versus what I think I should be doing. My path has been far from straight forward and detours seem to make up the majority of it. As a person who doesn’t know how to operate without a purpose or passion, feeling like I’ve lost direction is overwhelming and terrifying.

And so in those moments, when I have the wherewithal to step back and take a breath, I remind myself that this life thing… doing it on purpose… it requires patience and kindness towards myself.

Sure, in these dialogues with myself I can feel a bit like a motivational cat poster. But the truth is undeniable: If we’re not our our own paths, then exactly whose paths are we on?

Even when we feel like we’ve taken a wrong turn, or gotten lost in a detour, it is ALL part of our path.

Living an intentional and purposeful life doesn’t necessarily require vision or concrete goals. It doesn’t require action plans, future plans, or check lists. It requires patience, some more patience, and a whole lot of grace and forgiveness; primarily towards ourselves. It requires grit along with softness, tenderness and patience, and acceptance of the difficult. Did I mention patience?

We can spend so much our time and energy trying to “find” a path, or “seek” a purpose that we miss out on what’s already happening in spite of our most determined efforts to “find” something outside of the present. We can be so driven to ensure our contributions to the world are valued that we lose sight of what it means to be valuable. But there’s a hard truth we all must face eventually… and I say hard because sincerely, I struggle to remember this:

I, You, We… all of us are valuable already. It’s baked in when we arrive! It’s not complicated or elusive. It just is.

To want to share your value with this world is admirable, and something I strive to emulate in my own life. But it isn’t something outside of who I already am, or who I was yesterday. Our efforts need not be large public displays of philanthropy or sacrifice. They must simply come from the heart – where value truly resides.

I can brighten someones day with a laugh, or take a moment to listen to a story. I can walk through a day with kindness and patience on my lips, and a willingness to apologize when I ought to. It can text an old friend, or draw a smiley face at the bottom of a bill. I can remember to be kind to myself and trust in the goodness of my life so that I can better help others see the goodness in theirs.

My path is one of purpose and value. But it is not always one of clarity. And that’s okay!

Life is a journey. And that we are allowed to, and encouraged to change course and adjust as time and experience affords, is simply a virtue of the human experience. We cannot be tied to one function or one age, one job or one goal. We are more dynamic than that.

When I’m at my best, I choose to tie myself to trusting in the goodness of life, and the path that I’m on. I choose to share my value through kindness and compassion, empathy and patience. And in this way, I can let go of trying to figure out my purpose or find my path, and simply step forward into the unknown, eyes wide open, with the faith that the path I was meant to walk is already under my feet.

The hard work of living is no easy task. But nothing worth while ever has been. Trust in your innate value and go out into this big world to make someone smile.

You will change the world by walking the path that is already under your feet.

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