A Path with Heart
“All paths are the same: they lead nowhere. … But does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn’t, it is of no use. Both paths lead nowhere; but one has a heart, the other doesn’t. One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will make you curse your life. One makes you strong; the other weakens you”
Don Juan Matus – A Yaqui way of knowledge
This quote attributed by Carlos Castaneda to the old Native American shaman – Don Juan, sounds a lot like the ancient Taoist concept of Ming. Ming is often translated from Chinese as ‘destiny,’ but as ever it’s a bit more complicated than that. It’s more accurately described as your optimum path through life, the one that you agreed to embark upon before you were born. When we do not follow our Ming, life can feel like a serious struggle.
The Japanese have a similar concept known as Ikigai. This describes a state of existance where you have discovered your reason for being. It’s the thing that you wake up for in the morning, the thing that drives you, the thing that gives life meaning and purpose. Ikigai is that sweet spot where what you love, what you are good at, what you can be paid for and possibly most importantly, what the world needs, all meet.
But how are we to know if we are following our Ming or reaching towards Ikigai? How do we know if our path has heart? Well in Chinese medicine the emotions associated with the heart are joy and excitement. Therefore we can ask – What is it in life that truly excites us? What is it that brings us joy and contentment? If we can find that thing which is our true passion and follow it, then we may start along our highest path. When this happens you may notice that the Universe starts giving you confirmatory signs. These signs can come in many forms – a shiver up the spine, a sense of déjà vu, strange coincidences, even a message from a road sign – all are hints to let you know that you are on the right track.
One fateful day, many years ago I had signed up to do a taster weekend on a Shiatsu course in Bristol. I had practiced Tai Chi and Qi gong for a few years and I wanted to learn more about this Qi energy that I had begun to experience. On this course, one of the fellow students remarked that they’d much rather do this Shiatsu than ‘stick needles in people for a living’. And I don’t really know what this says about me as a person but when they said that, a lightning bolt went off in my head and I knew, there and then, without a shadow of doubt, that that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life!
However it is not easy to follow your calling even when you have discovered what it is. Society is clearly not set up for everyone to follow their hearts’ desires. How would the capitalist system survive if everyone became acupuncturists, professional footballers or astronauts? We therefore have the modern education system imposed upon us, which eradicates this kind of grandiose dreaming and breaks the spirits of just enough people, so that the meaningless jobs can be filled to keep the machine rolling. To find and follow a path with heart is therefore probably the greatest act of rebellion that you can aspire to.
“Think for a moment, can you deviate from the path that your fellow men have lined up for you? If you remain with them, your thoughts and your actions are fixed forever in their terms. That is slavery. The warrior, on the other hand, is free from all that. Freedom is expensive, but the price is not impossible to pay.”
Don Juan Matus.
“Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run there’s still time to change the road you’re on.”
Robert Plant – Led Zeppelin – A Stairway to Heaven