For some their talents, loves, and interests manifest
themselves when they are children. They are immediately in life so good at
something, it is clear that they will spend their life with that “skill”
whatever it be. It is in large part, they path they will take.
The rest of us tend to do one of two things. Make a choice
what we want our skill to be and spend thousands of dollars going to school for
that skill. Or, not go to school and pursue living life hoping that “the skill”
comes to us. Even then, many of us reach the middle of our lives and say “What
is my purpose? What am I meant to be doing? Where is my personal yellow brick
road?”
What if there is no “Doing what you are meant to do”? What
if you’re just supposed to follow your heart and act on what you feel. No path
already paved for you, you have to pave your own. The pavement you use is
dreams, joys, interests, desires, loves, and the things that make you happy,
bring satisfaction, and lead to what we call “fulfillment”. There are no yellow
bricks already laid.
The thing is, the majority of people will insist there is a
path you must take, EVEN if it’s decided around age 18 and followed by going to
school. I say again: I’m at this point in life where my friends are realizing,
they thought they were on this yellow brick road, the one that gets them where
they are supposed to be… and realizing there’s nothing. The plan and the path
is failing them. The degree, the professional decisions, the money, the
everything. These are part of the realization that years on their particular
path didn’t get them anywhere they expected, just to the question “what is my
purpose”?
At a young age I learned to trust my heart. It pointed me in
many directions, most of which made everyone around me think I was crazy for
not just sticking to the yellow brick road, but my heart told me not to. Sure this path has been hard at times, but
hindsight is clear, and I know that the dreams, joys, interests, desires part
of how we find our path, has me where I am meant to be. It has me seeing places
I need to go, and I feel incredibly lucky I am not suddenly saying “Goodbye
yellow brick road” because I never wanted to stick to it anyway.
Listen to your heart, follow through on your joys and loves,
trust that the happiness will make sure your lack of a yellow brick road is
still a perfect path for you.
Here's a beautiful accompaniment for my thought.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAti8JNmJi8
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