“Do not go where the path may lead, go
instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
–Ralph Waldo Emerson
I have lately
been contemplating the central importance of integrity in my life, and when I
came across the quote above, it seemed to speak both to the importance of
thoughtfully questioning the life we inherit upon arrival in the world, and the
desirability of self-authouring our lives while we’re here.
I am an outdoors
enthusiast and as such am no stranger to trail blazing in the quest for adventure
and freedom. Forging a new path, a unique trajectory, in one’s personal life is
not so different—it requires a willingness and ability to face uncertain
outcomes, planning well to minimize any risks involved and using care and
intelligence in mapping out a few headings that will take us where we’d
ultimately like to go.
Self-authouring
is something I think we are born to do, unfortunately social and cultural conditioning
(among other things) creep in creating static that sometimes makes it hard to
discern who we are, what we’re about and what we’d like to do.
Thus,
cultivating an ability to listen closely to that which makes our hearts beat a
little faster, that which gives us a sense of spaciousness and room to breathe,
and that which feels native, authentic or natural to us—homing signals all—is
critical.
Living a mindful,
more aware existence can help. Setting aside time for journaling, meditating,
exercising or whatever activity it is that gets you in the contemplative zone (where
answers often appear, might I add) is fundamental.
For no one else
has the answers to our life, but us—we must be patient, we must listen closely
and we must take the time to let things settle. To incubate.
Going where no
one has gone before is essentially the simple, if daring, act of being most fully
ourselves—the heart of personal integrity.
So, don’t settle
for other people’s definitions of your life, or even what it means to live a good life—define
them for yourself.
Forge your own
path.
