Ever wished you had a map?
Or cursed for the lack of a guidebook?
Found yourself thinking:
Where is the manual?
If only I had the instructions!
There is a sense in us that there is usually a right way.
The best way.
And often, someone else has figured it out already.
It makes sense to learn from others. And at very least, avoid wasting your time and energy to figure it out from scratch.
Remember that humans are group animals, says my partner. This idea explains so so many things!
We can learn from each other. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel every single time.
Perhaps it is our greatest power as a species.
Our power is multiplied by our diversity, when knowledge is shared.
“Can’t you YouTube that?” is the modern, internet version of our most ancient technology.
It makes sense to learn from others. We are biologically wired for it.
But the idea of following the right way can be oppressive when we are trying to make our impact.
It can get in our way when we are traveling the journey of our lives, the journey of the difference we are here to make.
Two ways to go on a journey
One of my teachers shared a story that helps me with this.
He said, there are two ways to go on a journey.
The first way you study, you prepare, you plan, you pack. You use a map and a guidebook and you figure out what you will need in advance.
Then you pack your stuff, everything you will need, and you bring it all along with you.
You find out that there will be a river to cross, so you bring an inflatable raft. You learn that the journey is uphill, so you train your aerobic capacity and prepare yourself.
Taking this approach makes total sense.
But the underlying belief system might not be the most helpful.
The belief system goes something like this: you are at the mercy of a hostile environment. You need to “arm yourself” with the tools (and sometimes literally weapons) to conquer the world and its challenges.
You must be autonomous, independent and self-sufficient to out-smart an unfriendly, inanimate world.
This is modernity.
Disenchanted, scientific, rational. Objective, measurable and controllable.
All good, but not sufficient.
The second way activates a different belief system. A belief system that indigenous peoples around the world have not forgotten.
A belief system that belongs to us and is at the core of belonging.
The second way is about a relationship between you and a meaningful, animated world.
You set off on your journey knowing that you cannot know everything that you will need.
Trusting that you will find what you need along the way.
As if the way was part of you.
As if you were part of the way.
This kind of journey is not an engineering project to be completed as efficiently as possible.
It is a dialogue that unfolds between you and the world.
A drama. A poem. A koan. A love affair.
It is a mutually transformative, interactive. An alive experience.
It is your way. Meant for you.
All the best hero journeys end up like this.
Have you ever noticed that the hero never packs properly? Or even if they do, pretty soon something terrible happens and they lose everything!
This kind of journey is an entangled process that needs your courage and relies on risk-taking.
If the outcome was certain it wouldn’t be a journey, it would be a bus route.
And it is not that I’m against preparing, packing, planning …
Nor am I suggesting we be unrealistic about the challenges and life-threatening forces you may encounter.
These two kinds of journey can work together.
But it is the underlying belief system that makes the difference.
Are you facing off against a hostile world?
When we forget the living nature of reality, things can get very lonely and unkind.
Another way to talk about faith
I guess this is another way to talk about faith.
Not a faith that pits you against a sinful world.
But the faith that you belong.
Faith that the mystery is part of you.
So set off with a map and a guide and whatever you can pack.
We are lucky to be group animals, living together on a precious blue planet. We learn from each other and help each other to find the way.
But set off trusting that you will find whatever you need for the journey.
Set off knowing that you matter and that you belong.
Finding your way is a feeling thing.
You’ve got this.
And the world needs you.
Love
Hellene