The Imperfect Path

There is freedom in choosing a path that doesn't lead to where you imagined you would be but rather where you are supposed to be, in that moment in time. We often wait to make a decision, looking for a sign, wanting the choice to be clear, and the path to be perfect, but we forget that there is a reason imperfect paths are so worn. Humans don't repeat the same actions generation after generation because they are incapable of learning or evolving. Some paths, some actions, are just part of the process. We often know the inevitable result but it still seems worth it so we take a path taken time and time again with the same results. Yes, pain could possibly be avoided if you waited, or avoided those worn roads, but pain is often just as an important part of the process as pleasure and love.

It is said that we feel pain as a survival defense. If you put your hand over a fire, it is only pain that causes you to pull away to keep you from more seriously hurting yourself. Without it, our survival would be short. I am not suggesting you act rashly, and choose your path without respect for the lessons your ancestors have taught you, or without regard for the consequences, but rather understand that there is almost no perfect path, no clear choice, and no sign that a choice you are making is the right one. The path may be imperfect, but in life we often end up where we are supposed to be if we just make the choice.

Sometimes those choices, those paths leave you in shambles. But just as you should see the freedom in the ability to choose your own path, see the beauty in falling apart if that is where the path seems to lead. Sometimes you have to fall apart or you would never rebuild as strong as you need to be so that the next time you choose, you have the strength to see it through, the tenacity to get to where you are supposed to be.

So this year, act and don't let the potential consequences paralyze you, knowing that no matter the consequence, there is freedom in the choice and beauty in the process.