Self Reflection: Finding Your Path

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“There is no path. You make it by walking.” - Antonio Machado A possibility was born when I listened to the recording of David Whyte’s The Three Marriages. I started a new conversation with myself; I became aware of the unknown. I repeatedly paused and played the recording when Whyte said, “If you want to give your gift, then you follow your desires. How do I know what my deep desires are verses the shallow surface desire? The answer is you don’t, until you try them out. You have to feel that particular pull that is your own, the conversation that you belong to - the horizon that you feel drawn to. You’ve got to have faith in it no matter where it starts and no matter how small its place. Follow it until you start to feel something larger than your own inheritance.” I sat upright. A knot in my stomach emerged. Was this some sort of permission to explore distant desires that I might neglect in the pursuit of job security? Suffice it to say, I was intrigued. I have since read several of Whyte’s collection of poems. In Santiago, Whyte encourages us to courageously go far within… “The sense of having walked from far inside yourself out into the revelation, to have risked yourself for something that seemed to stand both inside you
 and far beyond you, that called you back to the only road in the end you could follow” In actuality, this conversation had started during our lunch. I was enthralled when our speaker quoted Thoreau and asked us what our song was. I knew instantly that my life’s symbol is the tree. I started thinking about my love for Mother Earth and wondered if that’s where my desire lies. And, if so, where is the synergy with my health care endeavors? I find myself questioning the pursuit of my education. Am I solely doing it for practical purposes, just to secure my future? Is being practical a genuine pursuit? It is
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