As I walked through the forest this morning I saw the sun shining in a grassy glade nearby. I crunched over the frost hardened grass and admired the sun beam as it lit up the grass like a pathway, level, direct, and over easy ground. The thought occurred to me – wouldn’t it be lovely if our choices in life were as easy as following that beam of light.
I also noticed that the very words I used to think about this have a bearing on how I feel about where I am going next. “Which path shall I choose” sounds so much freer than “Which path should I take?”
In the next moment the light shifted a couple of feet to the side, and the easy path disappeared. A new pathway of sunlight went over and through a scrubby area and a couple of small trees, a more challenging, off the beaten path type of route.
Different pathways, starting from right here, just as in life, we continually have the freedom to make choices from infinite possibilities. Our final destination is the same – no doubt there – but what treasure, what challenges in taking paths that are different – often more painful, difficult, and scary – but perhaps bringing a greater reward, the opportunity to really discover what is in our hearts, and clearly illuminate who we are and who we can become.
