So much is going on in the world today. What does one do to find the path they belong to when one feels the desire to help AND has the capability to see the repercussions to / multiple connections of ones action and is able to push through the haze that SHOULD block one from taking any action in any direction? How does one first train themselves to not allow one's self recognition to become a focus (which in itself would block one's self from betterment), and then to find and fight for the path that they are capable of? Is a lifetime of energy spent toward the progression of a change to recognizable and connected love, without any possibility of ever seeing an end result that would mean one could stop working, relax, and enjoy what it was that one had worked so hard for - worth fighting for? Or does one take a smaller, more focused and self centered view on life. Does one spend one's time progressing one's self, and having a family, and being good to those whom one interacts with, and teaching one's family to do the same? Not to make a small thing of the latter, but is that all that is possible? One may not want to fight against ones own destiny, but in my experience the best things in life ARE HARD to accomplish. What does one do?
I don't really see why personal growth and change and global growth and change need to be mutually exclusive, for example, Nelson Mandela was married and achieved a fair degree of personal success and a long life, as well as all of the other wonderful change he managed to bring about.
It's a matter of personal choice and perspective, and personality, that can also be influenced by external factors. One's situation in life can have a lot to do with it, as priorities change when wealth is scarce. What's best for the whole world doesn't come easily to the front of one's mind when you can't even put food on the table for yourself and your kids :/ I would personally like to see people combine these two seemingly seperate paths more often :)
And does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker? Most successful people I know didn't know what they were supposed to be doing until they'd been doing the wrong thing or nothing at all, for years. Including myself.
Great post, great questions by the way. Nice to see a philosophical debate open up :D
Wow! Thank you for your interest. When speaking in regard to the possibility of any action, one might say that anything is in fact a possibility. One of the most enlightening days of my life was when I realized a fact that was simultaneously amazing and depressing; that inside of the informed human collective, there is no true originality.
I was trying to imagine that there was a way of presenting a line of thought that could be used to instil a sense of passion and motivation into peoples hearts; enough so, that the intense drive for labels (that people seem to to be so obsessed with these days) could be set to the side, and that people could be motivated toward an end that would have mankind open to a drive for continual self betterment, AND of an acceptance and understanding of the right of others to remain truly free (anything outside of hurting anyone else physically, mentally, emotionally, or financially - though, I could agree that lines on that do become blurred for many reasons, and theres too much involved inside of that to speak without fully rambling). I then thought of people like Mandela, or of Lincoln, or Lennon, or Shakespeare (?), and realized that although language changes throughout any age, there is no new way to say things that bring people together... It ends up being a matter of timing and personality (as you'd mentioned), that when mixed with a certain drive, makes someone great.
Then I thought of the positive side of this. There can be no loneliness in any attempt to be a good person. If one focuses on doing the right things, and lives right by others, whether or not it is seen by one, there is another somewhere who believes the same, and is choosing to live in a positive fashion.
However..
My original question was in regard to finding a path. With an ability to see any multitude of paths, one may find it insanely difficult to drive on a path that could eventually lead nowhere - on the off chance that circumstances will align and opportunity presents itself. That is why I was curious about others thoughts as to whether or not one should CHOOSE to take a step back, and to focus on being good inside of an area that would only affect only one's own life, or to continue driving (though it could indeed be said that in doing so, one may be presented with an opportunity to affect more - but a man can't go (from one day to the next) from a bum on the street to a true leader).
Your path will find you
Most of us create our own paths based on a foundation then we build on it..Magick should never be held back just because a workable spell or Ritual is not your original belief.
