There Is No Path
Finding your path in life is an arduous task. Most people think there are three major groups when it comes to finding one’s life path:
- Those who have actually found their way in life (I'm not envious at all)
- Those not searching for their life path
- Those who have given up searching for their life path
But there’s a fourth group that is often forgotten: the ones who search too intensely for their life path. Much to my dismay, I’m part of this group.
The problem doesn’t stem from an intense desire to find one’s path. It stems from the fact that all this thinking turns into rumination. It makes your head spin, leading to confusion. Since we’re confused, we try to reason ourselves out of it. But reasoning involves more thinking, which in turn leads to even more confusion. See the cycle?
"If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s."
– Joseph Campbell (though some sources claim it’s from Carl Jung; take your pick)
What I realized in the last couple of days is that there is only one common way your life path appears: by walking it. And by walking, I simply mean trying things out. It’s like the time I wanted to take improv classes. I agonized for ages over whether I wanted to be someone who takes improv classes. Want to know how I found out?
I took improv classes.
Every time I started thinking a little less and doing more, my life became better and clearer. This doesn’t mean abandoning rational thought completely—just avoiding the point where thinking turns into paralysis by analysis.
I’ve been searching for the past three years without results—or so it seems. The problem is, we're waiting for a single moment when suddenly everything becomes clear, and we know exactly where to go. I fell for this kind of thinking. Waiting for a revelation. It never came. Life isn’t that simple or tidy. It’s messy. It was only in the moments when I let go of searching that I found more than I could have imagined.
"As you walk the path, the path appears."
– Rumi
Walk. Stumble. Fall. Then get back up again. If you end up with a bloody nose while wandering through the darkness, you know you're on your path—and that eventually, the light will appear.