We all have our own path to follow up the mountain and each is unique to each person. It took me many years for me to find my own true path. I stumbled many times along the way. I was bruised and scratched and my pack grew heavy with the burdens I carried. Sometimes the path was rocky and tedious. At other times, the trail was easier and when I stopped to breath, I saw the subtle signs with clarity along the way. There were times when I got lost but I kept going and turned a corner into a beautiful valley where I was filled with peace with the sight of glorious Creation in people and places.
I’ve wasted time, too, trying to convince others they are on the wrong path by judging or criticizing their beliefs or ways of living. Why do we do that? I think it is because we are afraid of those who are different, who don’t fit our homogenous image of the way things should be. We attack what we fear. We spend our energy and efforts attacking those who are on the “wrong path” and thus waste an incredible amount of time walking around the mountain.
St. Francis said as he was dying “I have done what is mine to do. May Christ show you what is yours.” I think this is the essence of the Hindu proverb above. Follow what is in your heart. Follow your own path. It is your journey.
Here are some questions to help you think about what is yours to do. You may want to write in your journal, sketch or do a collage, meditate on one or two words which speak to you:
- Are you following your own path? How do you know? What do you feel when you are on your path?
- What do you carry with you in your pack? What do you need to take out of your pack to make the journey lighter and freer?
- When have you walked around the mountain telling others they are wrong? Why?
- Have you discovered what is yours to do? What do you need to learn what it is?
If you would like to talk more about your journey, I welcome walking on your path with you.
Blessings,
Christy