A common metaphor for life is that ‘life is a journey.’ As we travel along we have many choices; one of these is which path to follow. We can choose a wide path or we can choose a narrow path, for example. Many of the ancients suggest, if not directly tell us, that the wide path leads to destruction and that the narrow path leads to life. What might this mean? I am not sure, but not being sure has never stopped me from speculating. So, consider the following. The wide path indicates an expanse so broad and vast that we can bring along with us anything we want. We do not restrain ourselves, we do not seek discernment as to what might be nurturing and what might be depleting. There are no limits as to what we can bring with us — anything goes. I don’t have to stop and step back and reflect. Oh, I will at times be reactive but I might not be response-able. I don’t have to think of consequences — the effects upon me or upon others or upon my relationships with myself, with the other and with the transcendent (or God or Allah or Mazda — the god, not the car).
There is so much stuff that comes with me when I travel the wide path that I am easily distracted by a wide variety of . . .[you name it]. I can easily become distracted from one or more of the four dimensions that constitute my being — my Physical dimension, or my Intellectual dimension, or my Emotional dimension or my Spiritual dimension [my P.I.E.S.]. It is then an easy step to move from distraction to ignoring them with the consequence that I will begin to deplete them and I will enter into a life of dis-ease. Choosing the wide path is, for me, a cause for considerable concern.
The narrow path, by its nature, is limiting. I have to be more discerning as to what I will carry with me. I still have choice AND the narrow path provides me the opportunity to stop and reflect before I choose what to carry with me along my journey. There is a paradox here for me for the narrow path feels constricting and the wide path feel liberating; my experience is, however, that the opposite is the reality. The narrow path is liberating in that it provides me the freedom and discipline to choose and to be response-able. The narrow path also provides me the opportunity to become discerning regarding my ‘call.’ It provides me the opportunity to become aware of my life’s purpose. The narrow path provides me the opportunity to gain clarity about who I am and who I am choosing to become. The narrow path provides me the opportunity to discern and choose what will be more nurturing and less depleting to my P.I.E.S. The narrow path also provides me the opportunity to take the time to savor my life experiences and to reflect upon them and hence to learn from them.
For me, these paths run parallel to one another; they are so close that I can — and at times I do — easily step from one to the other. At times they intersect and even merge into one path. If I am not awake and aware, if I am not intentional and purpose-full, I can easily ‘get lost’ and not be aware of which path I am traveling (my personal experience is that when I am not awake or aware or intentional or purpose-full then I end up walking the wide path). As I sit here this morning I can see the seductiveness of the wide path and I can feel the anxiety that the narrow path generates within my heart and soul. I can easily react to the seductions of the wide path; in order to choose the narrow path I must be response-able and intention-all. Excuse me, I need to pause and look about me to see which path I am on today. . . oops. . .more later.