The Journey

If there is a problem with the world it is its addiction to instructions. Lists of how-to’s, roadmaps, directives, blueprints, and directions. Society is convinced that such things truly exist. And there is no shortage of individuals who are eager to take advantage.

Scientists study myelination as an explanation for skill acquisition. Media outlets sensationalize celebrity biographies. And the public listens to the stories which support their own ideologies.

Why is society convinced of a roadmap?

Because it has no interest in the search.

What it fails to realize is that a roadmap is not the one you follow at the beginning of the journey. It is the one you create as you traverse it.

The athlete craves reassurance of his talent. If he receives sufficient external praise, it allows him the fortitude to begin the journey. Such a journey is doomed from the start.

The dancer craves acceptance. He lives his life anticipating criticism or praise. He relishes one whilst avoiding the other. What he does not recognize is that they are fundamentally one and the same.

What both of them will face is endless struggle. For what they both lack is sincerity.

The path to success is ill-defined. Following in the footsteps of another will lead you away from yourself.

For the individual who succeeds, the journey is neither path nor promise. And often what he finds is different from that which he believed he was seeking.

Success is not his reward for seeking. It is a reward for the sincerity with which he seeks.

It is far too often the case that one’s craft is sacrificed in exchange for what it can provide. When the craft becomes a vehicle, the sincerity has vanished. And the journey leads nowhere.

Society is far more in love with arriving than it is with seeking. More in love with deliberating than with embarking. And more in love with following than with leading.

Nature reveals its secrets to the man who is sincere. Not because it wishes to. But because it has no choice.