Path of Life

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Path of Life

From here and there I walk an endless mile, on a pre-described path of knowledge and discovery. What journeys of mine are these, and to what end do I search? With each step comes another moment of discovery. I may be stepping into a step that has never been stepped or a step like a thousand before it. How would I know this, and what answers avail them to me, to discover my path and how to walk it? Sören Kierkegaard once wrote, "Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards." Throughout our lives we must take a moment's pause to consider the implications of a decision that we must make in our lives. We won't learn whether we have made a sound decision or one of folly until, often times, much later in our lives. I believe that is what Kierkegaard is trying to say with his quote.

How much easier would life be if we knew the answers to life's questions? Should I take that job for less money, but a higher potential of advancement? Where should I go to school, or should I go to school at all? These are a few of the pondering questions that could be considered key moments in life. The outcome of these questions could inherently alter the course of our future. A great amount of stress can be caused by trying to deduce the best course of action to such questions. If we could somehow program a multitude of variables into a computer and receive a print-out of statistically what would be the best path for us, then it is possible that we could live our lives with less stress.

How would knowing the best, possible, outcome to a particular situation change us as human beings? Franz Kafka said: "You are free, and that is why you are lost." I think that being "lost" can be a good thing; it helps shape who we are, adding a sense of excitement and wonder to the whole of our lives. Knowing what the resulting effect would be of a particular scenario would turn us into robots. A great number of the stories that I like to tell about my life are the result of one or more of my decisions going totally and completely wrong. For instance, there was a time that I was about 17 years old, and I drove a 1985 Renault Encore. That car was a very special car. There wasn't much that I couldn't make that car do and there wasn't much that that car would do. It was a bright and sunny day at Lake of the Pines when I was driving into one of the many parks surrounding the lake offering an afternoon of swimming with friends. I was about to park when I noticed a couple of the girls that I had planned on meeting walking across the lower section of the boat ramp, a few feet into the water. I got the bright idea to "scare" them by driving