The PATH: On Progress, Preparation, and Becoming
sent by J.W. Bertolotti | November 29, 2021
1. On Progress
If we assume that we are all heading down a particular path, moving forward feels like the only suitable option. Although sometimes making progress includes choosing another path altogether. As the writer and theologian C.S. Lewis tells us,
Progress means getting nearer to the place you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turn, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case, the person who turns back soonest is the most progressive.
Are you on the right path? It is difficult (and humbling) to accept the need to turn around or change your course. How would you know if you are on the right path? A sign could be a feeling that it has no end.
To quote Winston Churchill, “Every day you make progress. Yet stretched before you are an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path.” You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this is far from discouraging; it only adds to the joy and glory of the path.
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2. Preparation
What image comes to mind when you think of preparation?
The Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw described this image, “A man learns to skate by staggering about and making a fool of himself. Indeed, he progresses in all things by resolutely making a fool of himself.”
Did your image of preparation include: making mistakes, challenges, or suffering?
The Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh writes eloquently in No Mud, No Lotus:
Most people are afraid of suffering. But suffering is a kind of mud to help the lotus flower of happiness grow. There can be no lotus flower without the mud.
The Stoics have an exercise called Premeditatio Malorum (or premeditation of evils). Simply put, thinking about what could go wrong to prepare for the unexpected. When you think of preparation, it is helpful to see yourself making mistakes, growing, and learning from the challenges.
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3. Becoming
The psychoanalyst Carl Jung once said, “The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” Over 2,000 prior, Socrates echoed the similar sentiment “Know Thyself,” inscribed at the Oracle at Delphi.
Jung suggested we explore our darkness,
Be silent and listen: have you recognized your madness, and do you admit it? Have you noticed that all your foundations are completely mired in madness? Do you not want to recognize your madness and welcome it in a friendly manner? You wanted to accept everything. So, accept madness too. Let the light of your madness shine, and it will suddenly dawn on you. Madness is not to be despised and feared, but instead, you should give it life...If you want to find paths, you should also not spurn madness since it makes up such a great part of your nature...Be glad that you can recognize it, for you will thus avoid becoming its victim.
It seems counterintuitive at first glance. But many others suggest similar advice. For example, Pope Francis advises we not only examine our sins but recognize ourselves as sinners. The philosopher Seneca put it this way, “Let us examine, observe, and inspect our hearts…more or less, we are all sinners.”
The paradox is that we can become who we indeed are by accepting ourselves just as we are. Although, according to Jung, “The most terrifying thing in the world is to accept oneself completely.”
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Thank you for reading; I hope you found something useful. If so, please consider sharing it with others.
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