Friday, June 3, 2011

thoughts on the news of the day: paths

hmmm…..
            There is a traditional Malayalm story that has been adapted by Paulo Coelho and it goes something like this:
            A calf needs to cross a virgin forest to get back to his pasture so he creates a path through the thickets.  It is a tortuous path full of obstacles, but the calf makes it back home.  Soon all sorts of wild life are using the path, and then explorers also journey on it.  It becomes a road full of travelers and no one ever questions the path or the inconvenience of it.  They just merely follow along with what has been put before them – a two hour path, when one could be laid out better and easier that would take ¼ of the time.
            We do that, don’t we?  We say, “We’ve always done it that way” without questioning the practicality or reasonableness of the path we have chosen.  We could think outside of the box --  we could get creative and see where a  new path might lead us.  Often times we are hesitant because we might be wrong.  But what if we did?  What if we rejected the paths laid out so long ago when we knew less and instead forged a new, less cumbersome trail? 
            In our families, at work and in our spiritual life, we can set out to find new paths.  We can invite others to go with us so that it won’t be so scary.  And we can rejoice when we reach the other side – quicker, easier, faster, better.
            hmmm…..
         

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