The paths we take in life are directly influenced by what we believe in. Take simple superstition. You see a black cat crossing the road, just as the bus you take to work rolls into the stop, and you wait. This means you miss the bus and have to wait fifteen minutes for the next one. You may strike up a conversation with the complete stranger next to you at the stop, rather out of your usual character. You have thereby changed your path and to a small degree your very self.
Through your actions, defined by your belief, you have both fortified a ritual and broken your introvert habit. It does not even need to be a ‘life changing’ conversation, it was simply one you would not have had, if you had not stuck to your belief system. If it was a positive experience, you may even attribute it to being the result of not crossing that ‘bad luck’ path.
We each have our own systems, which we have found along our path and now define our direction. I believe strongly in the moral and ethical production and consumption of food and nourishment. My actions have been determined by my belief. My path has been forged, through metaphorical ‘briar’ patches such as the lowly wage of an apprentice chef. I aim to seek out not only ethically, organically, locally produced food: it has to be loved food. Love is a big part of my journey. I love food and the enjoyment of what I believe to be ‘good’ food. The love of my beau, family and friends leads me to express affection, appreciation and desire through its preparation and presentation.
My mother simply loves to give. She gives the most amazing presents and small surprises. My father loves to teach, to talk and to try and enlighten and open people up to new possibilities. We all have our passions and we often forget that our very personality traits are reflections of these passions, guiding our path through life.
As you define you own path in life, you define yourself. Other people see the path that you take and may judge you, expect things from you, try to follow you or ignore you because they believe your path is too far from theirs. This then affects the people we meet and the relationships we form. It is unlikely that you will ever even meet let alone engage someone on a path that is distant or separated from yours/societies. So we tend to engage with people on a similar path to us, those who may provide guidance, company or who follow.
It is important to question our own paths, rather than those of others. Are you getting to where you want? Paradoxically we often take a path that does not correlate to a goal we strongly desire. What are your desires? How can you redefine your path to take you where you want? What do you believe the journey is? Reflect for your self on what you want your journey to achieve.
