Begin Again

Imagine my confusion when I came to the end of the road and found that it just stopped. No fork. No narrower path. No signposts. Nothing but the end of the road and vast, unmarked horizons ahead.

I thought I had been getting somewhere, as I skipped along that road. Never even thought about it, really. The path was so clear ahead.

But then the road ended, without warning. Stunned, puzzled and with nothing else to do, I sat down, right there at the end of the road, suddenly drained. Obviously, there were choices to be made again, but no hint about what to do next, or which way to turn. Wait for inspiration? Sort through the clues that must have been there, ignored?

Yeah, yeah, life is a journey, not a destination. But I’m too impatient for slow, prodding Process to play itself out. Action and achievement, that’s for me. By those measures, this journey would count as a failure. But I don’t feel like that at all. I am uplifted by the cherished new friends I made along the way. Kindred souls, maybe we can compare maps and they will help me get my bearings again.

Or maybe, the path had just been a mirage. All territory on our journeys is uncharted. And that’s as it should be, and always is, whether we acknowledge it or not. Joseph Campbell whispers in my ear, warning me again ~ If you find yourself on a path, it means you are on someone else’s path, someone who went before you. The only authentic path is the one you make for yourself. For myself.

And so, I rest for now. And then, begin again.