The Pathless Path

Hello Fellow Traveller,

I hope you’ve been keeping well these past months.

I’ve been working on a longer essay over this time, which seeks to articulate my current understanding of life and the world. It’s a more in-depth exploration than I’ve done before, focused on how we relate to those people and living things we consider as ‘other’.

I hope to share it with you soon.

In the meantime, here’s a reflection on the nature of our journeys through life — one that asks if it’s ever really possible to follow someone else’s path, or if, in truth, our steps create the way as we go.

It’s called ‘The Pathless Path’.

***

“Traveller, there is no path,
The path is made by walking.”
(Spanish poet Antonio Machado, 1875–1939, ‘Proverbs and Songs’)

Everyone wants a path to follow,
Here is a group,
Here are the rules,
Here’s the way to reach the top,
and the faster you get there the better …

Don’t you want to win?

But what if, in fact, there’s no path,
or, at least, the paths are all in our minds,
made up and constructed by other minds,
imagined, out of thin air, almost …

What if all the paths are mirages?

And what if each step you take forges the only real path,
one created by your footprints alone,
intersecting with other footprints, yes,
but still unique to you …

Might that be the path of your soul?

Because even when you think
you’re on a certain path,
whether it’s
a work path,
a family path,
a travelling path,
a money-making path,
a pursuing-a-passion path,
or a path to enlightenment or eternal salvation –
You’re still actually on your own path,
And your path is simply intersecting
with the paths that other people
(very often inspiring people,
but still always human people –
and usually dead ones at that)
have made, and lived, before you.

So even when you’re following
what the guide for a certain path says,
whether it’s
a spiritual leader,
a science teacher,
a Director or CEO,
a psychoanalyst,
an environmental activist,
or the richest person in the world –
You’re still always doing it in your own way,
in your own time,
with your own unique steps,
such that it’s really your path,
and you’re creating it as you go.

It’s tempting to become a Buddhist, after all,
But Siddhartha didn’t become
the Buddha, by following
the Buddha …

… he forged his own path.

“Traveller, your footprints
Are the path …
By walking the path is made.”

***

Of course, maps can still be beautiful, and they do serve a purpose, too. The trails made by others can inspire our own journeys, and when we are lost, lead us to little clearings in the forest.

So we shouldn’t discard all our guidebooks too hastily.

Still, as the Swiss psychologist Marie-Louise von Franz said in The Way of the Dream:

“[T]here’s always been a tendency in humans to project the uniqueness and the greatness of their own inner self onto outer personalities and become … [their] servants, admirers, and imitators … That is much easier than following your own star.”

Thank you for reading, and may your journey be filled with joy, wonder, and light.

Until next time,

Jason