Picking your 'Path'

I could be considered as a moderately lost person at this stage in my life. I live a comfortable life in a nice house and am surrounded by people who care for me, yet I feel like I’m looking for something, something substantial, a part of me which will make my life more 'fulfilling'. In the form of an analogy the best way I can try and describe my current situation is by referring to life being like climbing a mountain. In order to climb the mountain it helps to find a decent path, some paths are steeper and more dangerous yet exciting whereas others are relatively safe and simple, depending on what type of person you are effects which type of path you choose. The point at which I’m at is not even being able to find the right path for me to start climbing. I’m not personally a ‘simple path' type of person because I know there is a route which is much harder but where the views will be so much more satisfactory. How do I know the views are worth it? I have absolutely no idea; instinct I suppose.

''No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.''
-Buddha

Deciding big life choices is you mapping out your next stage of climbing the 'life mountain'. Whether it be what school you should go to or what the right career path is for you, deciding these questions normally begins with a time of self-reflection. A period of time, either un-consciously or fully planned, in which you decide what brings you true joy, the pros and cons and whether the pros outweigh the cons. There comes a point however, when you may just have to take the leap of faith; trust and believe that ‘whatever is meant to be will happen’ and go with your gut. For those people who don’t believe in fate this will be a pretty hard concept to accept, but I think if you don’t trust your instincts then sometimes you’ll just never move forward in life.

“If the problem can be solved why worry? If the problem cannot be solved worrying will do you no good.”
― Śāntideva

One of my biggest inspirations and a person whom I believe to have chosen an exceedingly interesting ‘path’ is Russell Brand. He seems to have carved his life into the most intricate piece of art. His life could be thought of as a fairly abstract piece of art, which is probably why so many have difficulty in understanding him. Perhaps his enthusiastic speeches get lost in translation and mask his true genius for some. But those who appreciate the depth and detail of his character as a work of art will agree with me that he is an inspiration for not leading a necessarily conventional  and conforming life. There are many who define him by his ‘mistakes’, there are tabloids going back years which are a constant and evidential reminder of his addictions and past flamboyant antics. But does a ‘moral relapse’ in one stage of your life really have to constitute in our modern society in earning him the permanent status of being a ‘failure’, constantly being defined by his former actions?

I digress, I believe that with every drug he took and every drink he drunk it was his own journey and his version of climbing up his ‘mountain of life’. And who are we to be the judge and deem whether we believe he should never have partaken in such activities? Ultimately it is those lessons which he learnt that has brought him to such an articulate and profound perception of his understanding of life. I really do believe his life has been like a breath taking work of art, I think he is an exceptional being, something I could only aspire to.

''It's difficult to believe in yourself because the idea of self is an artificial construction. You are, in fact, part of the glorious oneness of the universe. Everything beautiful in the world is within you.''
-Russell Brand

I’m a big believer that ‘life isn’t about the destination it’s about the journey’, so my philosophy is to do what makes you happy in this present moment and try not to dramatically worry about every minor consequence it may have. From one perspective we  could be considered as a collection of our past ‘mistakes’. They are an inevitable part of us which makes us human so learn from them and maybe try to enjoy them from time to time; perfection is an idea which can only really be defined in relative terms to each individual. It is a simple fact that you’ll never know what you like until you try things. Don’t be afraid to explore just because you may get something wrong and make a mistake. And try not to feel you have to necessarily conform and follow everybody up their path to save yourself from making a 'mistake' alone. Trust yourself and your mistakes so that you can go up your path at your own pace and in your own way.

''The one who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The one who walks alone, is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been.''
Albert Einstein

 I recently came to the conclusion that if life is impermeable then we can only really trust (and enjoy) this present moment, nothing more and nothing less. Bar that, our life is ultimately a collection of our own memories, so what is so wrong in making the ride a little bit more interesting and entertaining. Ultimately you are the only one that has to live your life. I’m not saying it’s perfectly acceptable that the best idea is to go and be a reckless idiot, following the current popular trend of ‘YOlO’. However, I am saying to consider saying ‘yes’ a little bit more often and trusting yourself that mistakes aren’t the be all and end all. They could possibly be the factor that takes you up a different and more interesting path, the one that leads you to the better view. 

''To avoid situations in which you might make mistakes may be the biggest mistake of all.''

-Peter McWilliams
 
 

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-fOHtE1rXE

(Please Note: I would want to write the equivalent of a dissertation on Russell Brand  as oppose to a couple of paragraphs but instead he will probably be a running theme throughout the course of my blogs. Check out his website here: http://www.russellbrand.tv/ If you know little about him   I will be talking lots about him. For the time being a  little fact I'll share is that we both do a form of meditation called Transcendental Meditation, he speaks about it  and supports it a lot for the David Lynch Foundation.)