Mapping the Journey

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. “I don’t much care where–” said Alice. “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat. “–so long as I get SOMEWHERE,” Alice added as an explanation. “Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.” (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 6)

In our journey to become Spiritual Heroes, it is important to give some serious thought about what that journey is going to look like --that is, our plan for getting to that place of personal fulfillment and spiritual growth for which we long. There are many, many ways to accomplish this. However, each person's path is unique. Therefore, each of us need to put in the work of discovery and decision-making to take this journey. We should never be content with "cookie cutter" answers to this important journey.

First, all of us tend to start the journey in a similar place as Alice. That place is a place of uncertainty. We start off with only the tools we already know and those which were given to us. For many of us, those tools were provided by our parents, teachers, friends, religious groups and through our own learning process. We start the spiritual journey with what is familiar and comfortable whether it works for us or not. We hope it will be what we need to get us "somewhere". We just don't really give that destination a lot of thought. Except for when we do...and then we find ourselves struggling to make sense of it.

We need to ask ourselves if "somewhere" is good enough because as the Cat points out, we will get there if we walk long enough. But will we enjoy the journey? We need to ask if our understanding of spirituality and of those tools we have had in our lives is the right fit for us. Remember that the Spiritual journey takes into account our life journey up to this point and all of the decisions we have made, both good and bad. These are the foundations that have shaped our lives. This plan also needs to take into account our temperament, interests and goals in life. To quote Alice in a later place in the story, ‘I could tell you my adventures–beginning from this morning,’ said Alice a little timidly: ‘but it’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.’ (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 10) We are different people also. We may discover we need additional tools, or a new set of tools altogether.

Second, all of us need the advice of others to assist us in our journey. Alice chose the cat because he was convenient. Sometimes we look for the convenient and familiar way to go because it is the path of least resistance. Most organizations want you to join their group and give you the answers they have arrived at so you can take THEIR path. Sometimes their reasoning for this is altruistic and sometimes it is because they need you to help support their organization. That may sound cynical but this is true far too often. Perhaps what we need instead of the convenient is someone with the integrity to respond like the Cat. We need someone who is willing, when we ask for advice, to challenge us with the words, "It depends on where you want to get to."

The advice of those we value is only as good as our understanding of what we ultimately want from our spiritual journey. This is why we need to take the time to meditate on the deep questions about who we are, what we hope to accomplish and what we need to help us reach the destination of our Spiritual journey successfully. The advice and assistance of others makes the journey better but they can't make the journey for us.

The spiritual insights of daily living are amazing. We may discover that the answers that you received early in life are absolutely what we need to be the Spiritual Hero we are destined to become. OR we may discover that what we need to explore new tools and teachings to progress toward our destiny. It isn't that the previous things we received were wrong, far from it. They just may not work for us any longer. If they don't work for us, we need to set them aside and find what will work for us. We are all moving forward. It is always better if we know we have what we need as we move toward our destiny. We are destined for love, grace, peace and abundance. May we chose the path that leads us there instead of just hoping to end up somewhere.

#Spirituality #personalgrowth #tools