Look at Every Path. Chooseth the Path with Heart?
The Path
“Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try it as many times as
you think necessary. Then ask yourself, and yourself alone, one question. This
question is one that only a very old man asks.
My benefactor told me about it once when I was young, and my blood was
too vigorous for me to understand it. Now I do understand it. I will tell you
what it is: Does this path have a heart?
If it does, the path is good; if it does not, it is of no use. One makes you strong; the other weakens you.”
The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge (1968)
By Carlos Castaneda
Each day that falls upon us, we have decisions engraved on a sign before us with arrows in each direction. We stand before this sign and must choose which path our feet will follow. For those of us with chronic pain or those who are suffering greatly, these decisions become larger than life and overwhelm our souls.
Worn from daily battle, our perceptions may be reshaped and our minds may be weary with fatigue. But of most importance is the impact that our decisions will have on us. Since we may have so little left, if we make the wrong decision it may wipe out everything. Chronic pain and suffering is a road paved with loss. We loose family, friends, meaningful work, hobbies, physical activity, finances, security, social life, acceptance, respect, schooling, skills, joy, companionship, belief in ourselves and most of all hope and faith.
So if we make a decision that results in more loss, it may tilt us over the razor’s edge. So we contemplate before the sign, sometimes frozen in making a decision, as the weight is too much to bear.
When up against this overwhelming task, perhaps Don Juan’s words have some wisdom. Examine each path and choose the one that has a deeper meaning for your heart. As a Knight of the Pain Table, a Knight might use the Knight’s Code of Honour to help find their way. I believe that when you choose that, which you know is right in your heart, then that is always the right decision.
Alas, I pray thee well as thou halts before the fork in the road. And be gentle with thee, for thou is a Warrior of Pain.
Your Scribe,
Lady Sharon
Don Juan Matus is a major character in the series of books by Carlos Castaneda. Carlos Castaneda (December 25, 1931 – April 27, 1998) was a Brazilian-born American author. He wrote a series of books that describe his training in traditional Mesoamerican shamanism. In Castaneda’s books, Don Juan Matus was a Yaqui Indian whom he met during anthropological field work around the U.S.-Mexico border beginning in the early 1960s. On subsequent visits, Don Juan revealed himself to Castaneda as a brujo, which is a sort of healer.
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