Don’t go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
Don’t go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
When you venture into the forest, do you stay on the path, or do you head off into the unknown?
The trail will take you to predictable places, and, in the end, you may well feel that it was a most satisfying journey.
If you are out in the wilderness, and you opt to venture into places where no trails exist, you are in an entirely different set of circumstances. You are required to calculate how you will emerge back out of the wilderness and return to familiar territory. You must calculate contingency plans for all of the perils that venturing headfirst into the unknown may bring, including wolves and bears, along with dangerous terrain, fraught with unforeseen perils. Knowing how you will drink water, eat, take shelter and keep warm are all part of the equation. With some understanding and foresight, none of these obstacles are remotely daunting. They are just part of the equation.
It is considerably more secure staying on the trail. You will see the predictable sights, get to the predictable location, have the same experience as everyone else. And for most people, that is most certainly the best choice…. But for others, it is more of a life sentence.
Some of us could never live a contented lifestyle on the trail. There is something so mystical that calls to us from afar, beckoning us to venture into unknown territory. The interesting thing about unknown territory is that as we find ourselves regularly in such a climate, all of our prior efforts to cope with the unknown, have cumulatively added up to some suite of skills that are readily on tap for us to process the new variables and assist us in making (presumably) wiser choices than we may have made in earlier chapters of the same journey.
To that point, it is the ability to think on one’s feet, to process the imperfections in the current choice of direction and to anticipate as many of the setbacks as may possibly occur, that keep us alive and mobile. As we work to navigate the unknown, there is unquestionably a thrill of being in uncharted terrain that drives the internal engine of desire. This thrill delivers momentum, energy, determination, focus and helps to hone the proper skillsets in order that we may generate the prerequisite materials required to prevail under all circumstances.
For some, this will be a journey never taken. To others, it is a way of life. There is no wrong option here… only the one that will empower you to live a life on terms that are acceptable to you.
As a final note… if you journey into the forest, do not rely on leaving a trail of breadcrumbs that you may follow back to your starting point, or as a path for others to follow behind you. Reference: Hansel and Gretel, the horror story of two parents who intentionally abandon their children in the forest…the breadcrumbs will not get you back home again, so you must be more clever!
Happy Monday!
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