THE following reflection was suggested to me by an exchange of opinions between friends on Facebook. A quote was posted about each of us having to walk our own path. A comment was made about our being “alone” on such a path. Someone else answered “I am never alone because I always receive spiritual guidance.”
My reflection is this: If you have spiritual beliefs, you surely feel that you are being guided by a Higher Power. Your faith is strong, so nothing can shake your certainty about a force beyond any physical or intellectual grasp that is there for you, any time you need it. Isn’t faith, in fact, a creed based on spiritual acceptance rather than on proof? A person who can count on “divine” guidance is fortunate indeed. Many times, though, even those who profess themselves to be true “believers,” behave in a way that disproves their statement.
Anyway, either you believe or you don’t, here on Earth, in the material world where our existence is taking place, you are “physically” alone in doing your own work. In your pursuit of a better, more complete life, others can certainly be there, available and willing to help: Teachers, gurus, spiritual leaders, imams, scholars, lecturers, authors etc. If you are ready to listen, accept their words and learn from them, you might decide to apply their principles in your life. Here is the difficult part: You may agree on the principles they expose and feel that they are totally right. You even decide, or at least you promise yourself that you will actually “do” something, that you are going to put them into practice in your own life. But, in order to apply, you need to endeavor, strive, make an effort toward the application of the novel ideas.
Any time something new or different appears on your horizon, you feel sort of exhilarated, you want to share it with others, you are full of enthusiasm and boldly start on the new path. You decide to stop smoking, drinking too much coffee or soda, eating too many chocolate bars. You promise yourself that — from now on — you will keep calm when someone upsets you. You also make the decision to be more tolerant, more generous, to smile often, to appreciate more and complain less about people and situations. You are totally sincere, aren’t you? And you expect “the world” to immediately comply and behave accordingly! You nurse the hope that, having decided to improve your attitude and behavior, you become a sort of “hero,” and everybody should stand by you, approving and appreciating your new conduct. But… here is the bad news. This won’t happen! People and situations will remain the same, so it is “only you” who has to do all the work in changing something. Changing what? Simply… yourself!
This is the “work” that you must do and you can only do it “alone.” You are on a narrow path that allows one human being at the time to tread upon it. You may precede or follow someone else. But you may not walk “with” them. If your friend, your sibling or your spouse makes the same decision, that would be wonderful. Thus, they also will be on the path.
But it will be “their” path. Why can’t you walk together? Because their gait, speed, motivations, priorities are never the same as yours. They cannot be the same because you are different individuals, with different personalities, lives, environments.
You may not agree on this, you may be sure that your pace is perfectly coordinated with theirs, that you are proceeding in total harmony. Believe me, you are not. No two human beings are exactly the same, therefore their way and/or itinerary cannot be shared. I remember a friend once asking my advice about how to behave toward her husband in a certain situation.
My only answer was that I just could not give any advice about how “she” should behave toward “her” husband. Why? Because I was not her and, besides, I only knew how to behave toward “my” husband. People are different and therefore there is no one answer for all, as no behavior, no attitude, no conviction of yours is identical to anybody else’s.
In conclusion — on the road “you” are walking on — single line only is permitted. But… rejoice! This does not mean that you are “alone”!
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Creative Thinking: Single line only
