Learning From The Path

"As I let go of the need to arrange my life, the Universe brings abundant good to me."

~Deepak Chopra

There’s this beautiful path constructed from planks salvaged from a famous seaside boardwalk that was ravaged in a hurricane, which runs through a portion of the wooded preserve adjacent to my yard. I walk it almost every day (and pretend that it’s my backyard). As you first come upon it, it seems to appear from out of nowhere – a juxtaposition of solid craftsmanship within raw nature, a wondrous detour. There is something comforting about stepping upon it – solid, protected from the uncertain wetlands below (no muddy shoes). It provides a clear directive as well – as if slinging an arm around your shoulder and saying, walk this way – no wandering from this course.How do we choose which way to turn in life? How do we discern between the wisdom of those who have come before us and from what we know to be true within our hearts?I recently recalled a powerful memory of my grandfather, my father’s father, in an energy healing session. Without going into the details of all of that, I will tell you I was quite surprised that this particular memory came forward for me. I’m not one of those people with a memory bank chock-full of clear images, words and recollections, but Grandpa certainly came to me. And as I have professed many times before – I believe it’s never for naught. So why this memory, why now?I pondered it for days. I also felt I could break into tears each time I thought about it. It wasn’t simply because I missed him – it was because I was suddenly connecting some dots within my lineage. My grandfather was forced to quit school when he was 12 years old following an accident his father had in the coalmines of a rural Pennsylvania town where they lived. Soon after, he was headed for those same coalmines to work. Stop right there…12 years old, enough said.There were no discussions about - what is your passion, how do you feel, what do you want to do with your life? The only choice he had with his life was to put food on the table. The trajectory was set for him and would continue to unfold in this manner for years to come. Eventually he made his way to New York City where he worked odd jobs, became a doorman and finally a superintendent in a building into which he could move his family, my grandmother and my father, his son. There are many stories about how he could fix anything – and he often did. He couldn’t call on the super - he was the super. Imagine if his dreams and passions had been activated with education, travel and the like.Only 2 generations from Grandpa – I have traveled the world, feel as if I am a global citizen, have a college education from a prestigious University and live with a mantra of following my passion – things he was never availed of. So my tears for my grandfather derived from a place of pure gratitude, for the path forged from there to here by all of my grandparents. They were our unknowing energetic pioneers. And in recognizing this, I feel as if my grandfather was heard – his path mattered. It mattered to me, and it impacts my work today. Recalling this lineage infuses my writing with a shot of inspiration.I have a responsibility to keep this conversation going, to honor my grandfather. As a collective consciousness, we have a responsibility to further the conversations of all of those who came before us...to follow the yellow brick road, the building blocks for a more enlightened generation (and so on).Yes, there are practicalities of daily tasks, mortgages, bills and the like, but there is enough evidence out there in the big broad Universe to support the notion that we can have it all (all, is defined in the eye of the beholder). Purpose + Passion, sprinkled with a little faith = the magic of our life’s mission.What path are you going to choose? Choose you. Choose to believe you can put food on your table AND activate your life’s mission. Are you ready? Let’s do it for Grandpa! What do you think yours would say?