Lost Along the Path

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                Today I have been thinking about a quote I recently adopted as my mantra. Sometimes as we travel down our path we make discoveries, find new routes, or even discover old habits that although we once thought were healthy or least noble pursuits, we come to realize they hindered our progress and even negatively impacted not only us but all those around us.

                Not long ago I had one of these discoveries and I recognized that it would not be an easy habit to break, so in dealing with it I found a mantra to remind myself. This discovery was one many people over the years have tried to lead me to, but I was too stubborn and set in my ways to see it. Finally though someone I felt a kinship with, someone who had been where I was showed me the glory in the discovery and how much better my life could be after.

                My mantra, like me contains a duality. It doesn’t mean just one thing to me, it has two faces, the one that everyone else sees and the one that I adapted it to mean for me.

“Not all those who wander are lost” J.R.R. Tolkien (via Gandalf in LotR)

                The first meaning which I believe to me the more common interpretation (although put into my own words) is that not all things are as they appear, just because someone wanders off of their path, or strikes out into a new directions that does mean they are lost. They may appear lost, but really they may be on a short cut, an exploration mission and venturing into new and unknown territory with purpose.  In this way I remember that wandering is sometimes okay, and that just because of stray off my path or look to new directions does not mean I am lost or in trouble. If you never look around or wander off the path you will never know what adventures could have been in store for you.

                The interpretation I made up to my own needs is to remember that just because someone is wandering around looking lost does not mean they need me to guide them or give them direction. Even sometimes those that are truly lost must find their own way, for if we try to guide them before they are ready they will never find their own true path.

                Although I find both meanings to be very important the second is the one I remind myself of most often. Too many times in the past I have tried to drag others onto the path, to help them see only to waste my time and even possibly delay their own realization. When we try to help those who are not ready we not only waste our time, but we hinder them for if we always try to drag or carry them they will never learn to walk on their own.

                Until I can control my own urges to drag and carry others with me I must focus on my own path, one that although I have been traveling it, I have been going much slower than I should because of my own selfish desire to feel needed.