Pursuing Practical Enlightenment

I enjoy sports and I admire certain sports figures. They inspire me. But on occasion, I look at all our adoration for their physical strength and skills and wonder what if our society equally admired enlightened beings. Normal people, individuals without any special physical talent but instead, who strive for a different kind of excellence by showing up in the world with a higher level of spiritual practice or personal mastery. Just living out their lives, but demonstrating what it looks like to be enlightened, while the rest of us look on and admire all their tiny achievements. Goofy, but I picture watching a highlight reel with a string of snapshots for what an enlightened being would look like in action. Granted, I’m not exactly sure what this would actually look like, but I conjure up images of someone smiling to passersby, or going about their day looking content, possibly affirming other beings, or hugging unabashedly. Images of women and men in quiet contemplative moments looking over a nature scene, deep in study, or smiling contently as they engage with loved ones. Whatever images of being enlightened would be, I suppose they’d be different for each of us.

We’re lost in “distractions” posing as entertainment and consumed by “activities” posing as purpose. Although we’re saturated by media and messages, seldom is the topic of what it is to be enlightened given a mention. And in the midst of all the noise in our head, it's easy to miss someone who’s actually striving to transcend all the bullshit.

But I trust they’re out there. Individuals attempting to ascend to their own personal mountaintop, steadily working on the process, taking steps to further their progress on a path toward enlightenment. Slowly gaining precious elevation on the long climb up. Quietly attempting to build themselves up, like spiritual weightlifters figuratively spending time in their gym of transformation. Working out the deeper questions of life while putting pieces together to form a picture of their own personal puzzle for existence.

Those found doing such work have little time and little need to preach to strangers that their own efforts and belief system is sorely needed by anyone who does or believes differently. Due in part because such aspiring spiritual athletes are working on transcending the idea of “believing” in things at all. Instead, seeking to understand those things they may simply “know as truth.” Truth with the potential to have a transformative impact on their life and the possibility to have the slightest impact on the lives of others.

There’s endless possibilities for all the images of what enlightenment could look like for each of us, as diverse as all the people on the planet. But what exactly is it and what would it look like?

The lack of consideration of most anything or anyone considered enlightened could be because the term isn't really explored or understood. It's kinda ethereal, and lacks a concrete definition. Could be we're moving toward our personal religious or spiritual aptitude and the term doesn’t really have an association with our idea of “..what God is all about..”

The term “Being Enlightened” may also conjure up images of a bearded, wiry soul, looking resplendent, wrapped in a colorful sheet sporting a shaved head, sitting on a mountain ledge, eyes closed, back straight and legs folded.”

When I imagine an enlightened person, I think of the people driving alongside me on the freeways, or passing me in the supermarket aisles or sitting across from me at the office. Ordinary people simply seeking a better way, or a superior approach to life than the one they’ve embraced thus far. Living with an intention to improve the spiritual engine “within” in order to make the life’s ride a bit smoother with views through a windshield providing an improving landscape.

But many of us don’t consider an elevated consciousness or a higher state of being as either practical, attainable or even desirable. We’ve been conditioned to see the things you might consider as “transcendent” only through “extreme examples.” For something to be extraordinary, there’s an implication it happens to other people and not us or can only come by way of a miracle. We think in extremes: Angelic beings or demonic ones, Jesus as the sinless savior or Judas as the lowly traitor, a nun or priest with life devoted solely to God or the broken wayward sinner tearfully confessing their wrongdoings.

I’d like to think however that “being enlightened” - whatever we decide that actually is - should be much more common, more ordinary, and considered much more possible. Yet, for it to have practical application for any seeker, and not some concept reserved solely for guru’s, I’d suggest we consider the process will involve trial and error, will have uniquely original responses and accept that certain results may be flawed.

The concept of Enlightenment and how each of us understand it and ultimately look for it to have an effect on our lives is one of the most important considerations and vital aspects of living for each of us.

In order to accept the idea that enlightenment is a “positive” and more importantly “practical aspect” of our life suggests we first ask the question, “What is it to be enlightened?”

What is Enlightenment?

I’d suggest we start with the following illustration as one approach to gaining an understanding: First, let's ask the question “What isn’t enlightenment.” Approach the subject as if drawing our own portrait, but instead of starting by drawing an outline and adding in features, form the picture instead by darkening “around the image.” In other words, by darkening the scene around your portrait - thereby cancelling out all those things that represent “What it isn’t,” the canvas will ultimately forge an image of the subject and begin to form the picture.

Begin with this: Enlightenment isn’t perfection.

The idea of perfection has served as a wrecking ball for much of modern civilization. As a prime example, Jesus was surely enlightened. He possessed a depth of understanding and embodied higher thought patterns that transcended the accepted wisdom of his day. Then provided an demonstration of such an understanding, and ultimately attempted to share and communicate those transcendent ideas. Key word being “attempted.” Yet, instead of embracing those teachings, and closely discerning the example of Jesus, religious influencers have given modern audiences a storyline steeped in the “perfect, sinless” Jesus. As a result of the emphasis, and the implication there’s a such an insurmountable chasm between Jesus and the rest of us, the practical applications for his teaching have been lost.

Enlightenment is not perfection. It is the way ordinary women and men come to understand what is simply, “extraordinary.”

Enlightenment isn’t religious.

It’s neither religious nor a way of pleasing any “religious entity” - whomever that entity may be. In other words, the mainstream idea of God we’ve been taught is that “He - requires - belief.” This ancient revelation promotes the idea that: 1) God exists as a kind of male being; 2) Such a being has demands and requirements; 3) the principle requirement of those demands is “faith” and “belief.” Yet, Jesus clearly taught a non religious ideal rooted in concepts of truth and light intended to transcend such an ancient worldview unto a transformational form of enlightenment.

When our concept of God is rooted in a “belief system” and held in greater esteem over a transformational process founded in truth, a roadblock forms preventing us from ascending to a higher way of thought and expression.

Enlightenment is not religious. However, in a profound juxtaposition, through our process of seeking to be enlightened, we may gain a better understanding of God.

Enlightenment isn’t something reserved only for those “educated,” in all things religious.

Since enlightenment isn’t religious, it isn’t limited to someone who has a religious degree or holds a place in some form of religious hierarchy. There is no special “IQ” needed to understand a complex theology. However, I have found that those who seek after truth and intentionally partake in either study or by availing themselves to those who teach on the subject of enlightenment and spiritual growth tend to gain a greater understanding.

Enlightenment is not to be misunderstood as “complexity.”

Enlightenment doesn’t require seekers to abstain from anything or separate ourselves. However, as a result of seeing the light or being enlightened, we may choose to abstain from certain practices, or dedicate ourselves to others. Or choose to separate ourselves from certain people or things.

Seeking to be enlightened doesn’t separate one individual from another or present society with a hierarchy for those saved or unsaved, clean or unclean, redeemed or heathen.

Enlightenment doesn’t exist in “totality.”

In other words, the effect of enlightenment isn't a black and white concept, resulting in a “total” anything. It’s not a “total transformation,” nor a “totally finished proposition.” As with concepts of perfection, this idea of “completeness” also tends to either “Elude” those believing such an aesthetic is possible or “Delude” those believing they’ve arrived at such a place of being and will remain so without fail.

The journey into and through the process of seeking to be enlightened is eternal. It’s a trajectory or a beam of light of sorts that has no beginning nor end.

Enlightenment isn’t common sense.

There are many of us who have a kind of wisdom gained from life experiences, and have learned valuable life lessons from such things. And although practical worldly wisdom shares a thread in the tapestry of what can be considered as being enlightened, there are many who cling to this wisdom as their steering wheel for navigating all of life. The results tend to produce individuals who heavily lean on such practical knowledge but ultimately have very little transformative break through to transcend the world outside themselves, and step into the kingdom within.

Common sense and worldly wisdom demonstrate a certain kind of personal revelation and evolution within us. However, the focus is on perceiving and navigating the physical world of our senses which results in a kind of myopathy to inner concepts of self knowing, self regulating and self love.

How do we move toward the path of enlightenment?

We start with a simple awareness of this concept: “I can think about “what” it is that I think about.”

Seems a simple enough idea, but the awareness and the resulting exercise is one that many of us simply don’t consider or don’t actively practice. From such an examination, we begin to identify those things that are negative which arise and recirculate within our thoughts. In my own experience for example, this resulted in gaining an acute awareness of what are considered “ANTS,” the acronym for Automatic - Negative - Thoughts. A fitting acronym as well! Since like an actual ant, these negative thoughts are tiny and hard to notice, but when even just one is present, it serves as an irritant, tiptoeing over us and provoking a feeling that is less than pleasant. Ultimately, when any ant’s exist in large numbers they wreak havoc in our lives. And so it is with our negative thought patterns and our own ANT’s.

What constitutes a negative thought will differ for each of us. For me, when I wasn’t otherwise preoccupied, I found my ANT’s to be thoughts, which revolve around aspects of anger, frustration or conceit. Recurring thoughts about something “Done to me” or frustration about something “I’d done,” or elements of conceited pride about something “I was doing.”

“For as we think in our heart, so we become.” Proverbs 23:7 paraphrased

Using this lesson in practical enlightenment, “I can think about “what” it is that I think about,” I can then identify what it is that envelopes my thoughts and ultimately affects my subconscious. Awakening to the concept that what permeates my thoughts “inwardly” is influencing me “outwardly.” Clarifying for us how our intention, behavior, or decision could be formed upon recurring, negative thoughts that knowingly or unknowingly affect how we show up in the world.

When we become aware of those thoughts that don't align with our choice of our deeper intention for living or our values, we can conclude “Who I truly am is not necessarily what my thoughts are.”

Having examined the steps above, and considering my initial suggestion to “form our understanding of enlightenment by shading around the image,” we can ever so slightly begin to see its shape begin to form. The discussion also brings into focus what should be a significant revelation: Our thoughts and those thoughts our mind chooses to welcome in and partner with daily are worthy of our deeper consideration. Our successful step toward practical enlightenment in this example is to recognize within the consciousness that delivers such thoughts, is ultimately an "enlightened mind" that consciously chooses to control them.

The revelation and the steps leading us here also illustrate a very basic tenement of a deeper truth:

“Beliefs - as in those things we say “I believe in...,” often have very little to do with what we actually think. And therefore, as illustrated previously with negative thoughts and our less than ideal responses or possibly even our behavior, we may then conclude, “What we believe” has very little effect on how we show up in the world. As evidenced by many of us who cling to concepts of religious faith yet encounter difficulty experiencing the transformative change we long for and fail in ultimately having the impact we intend on the world around us.

From recognizing our thoughts and what it is we think about, we take a step toward self knowing and exploring what it is we think about - “ourselves.” Herein exists a key that opens the door to abundant life and takes us deeper along our spiritual path.

The concepts of self love are intertwined throughout the teachings of Jesus.

Jesus imparted an overarching concept of a Creator that "cares" for its creation, and how the universe illustrates a form of love by the myriad of support systems found within our natural world. From these teachings and his demonstration, we can see there's a high priority for recognizing the inherent value of each and every individual.

Essential truth: Love of self is a foundational truth for how we are to approach life. If Jesus loved and saw value in the diverse people whom he encountered, then we are to embrace a similar response for the love and value we initially impart unto ourselves.

In its simplest form, self love is recognizing all the aesthetics we’ve come to understand for truly “loving our neighbor” and firstly imparting such grace unto “ourselves.”

Forgiveness, patience, kindness, empathy, understanding, hope, reconciliation and all forms of love and care are the aspects of self governing that we should ruminate upon and embrace as our deepest form of "self acceptance." And only as we store up such treasures in the kingdom within, will we possess riches enough to share these spiritual blessings upon the souls outside of us. So it is that the measure we give to such a process, is the measure we will receive. What seeds we sow shall be the fruits grown we may then harvest and give unto others.

The next overarching thought form is to call into account those thoughts we encounter which form around fear, doubt, worry, lack and limitation.

This idea is rooted in knowledge and deep acceptance of an essential truth that exists before our very eyes: The order we observe in the universe, the earth and the myriad of systems that support life, exist in a manner which demonstrates a kind of care, love, and support from the creative entity behind it all. In the most obvious examples before us: The earth provides the form, a seed emerges and receives the water it needs to flourish and break through the earth’s soil, and is given the sunlight and the seasons it needs to live, reproduce and carry on such a pattern into infinity.

Therefore, a mindset of both “Abundance and Unity” needs to overcome and reign within our consciousness far above those lower thought forms founded in concepts of “Lack and Separation.”

But this isn’t so easy. And it may even take a lifetime filled with continual cultivation to grow and produce a harvest with bounty enough to truly satisfy our hunger for this dynamic. I suggest, in the realm of Practical Enlightenment, we simply accept that we exist and walk in the Light of Abundance and Unity. Let us be the farmers found planting and tending to such affirmative thoughts in order for them to bring forth abundant fruit season after season.

Reality: As there is sunshine, so there is also rain.

As there is sunlight and warmth, so also there is darkness and freezing cold. Among the vines that present us with fruit, we also observe weeds and even pestilence eating away at such fruit. And so it is, on our path of Practical Enlightenment, one of the most challenging aspects for raising our consciousness and awakening, is to look directly into all the concepts that represent “Pain and Adversity.” Because they're very real. And they're a part of it all.

Light exists alongside darkness: Both exist by the same life giving, creative entity we call God. But I humbly suggest, we must recognize that thus far we’ve been taught a very primitive way of understanding the effects of adversity, seen through a lens of “Blessings and Curses.”

While we may attribute an endless amount of items to give thanks for and to consider as blessings, there are no curses.

Somewhere, beyond our perception of the reality we think we see, such adversity can present itself as our teacher and our guide. Difficult concept. But understand, I’m not suggesting our encounters are without confusion or without painful torment. They generally are. But I will suggest, based on the scars I bear, given enough time, and enough Light and Inspiration to illuminate the lens for how we see our world, we may eventually come to understand such painful episodes are part of a greater process of personal growth and unfolding.

The art of being blessed isn’t when we can see that everything in life is good. Being blessed is when we can see the good of everything in life.

So to recap this conversation thus far, the steps toward forming an image of practical enlightenment will include:

• Recognizing our thoughts play a role: what we think about subconsciously matters.

• How it is we think about “ourselves” in particular has a profound effect upon us and is at the core to our evolution.

• Our basis for how we respond reflexively to the world around us should be steeped in concepts of love, abundance, support, unity and trust.

• We move beyond those things that exist as our “beliefs” unto what we may simply know as truth.

• We begin to see that adversity has the ability to shape us like the hands of a master sculptor, forming us through enormous challenges to offset and balance all those other things we consider blessings.

There are four levels to what may be considered as “consciousness, awakening or unfolding.”

Individual Perspective:

In this inward exploration, process of discovery and trek toward the light, a very important progression exists and needs recognition by us. These levels serve as an essential illustration for marking our progression up the mountain as we trek toward our “practical illumination.”

Higher levels of consciousness and inner awakening typically follows a pattern that begins with an “Individual Consciousness,” evidenced as Individuality.

In this incarnation we simply recognize that we exist. We gain an awareness that we possess a predisposition to a particular way of seeing the world and as a result we grow and expand our Individual Consciousness. But we start off essentially standing alone in a sense with a growing awareness of our particular likes, dislikes, observations, experiences and all the takeaways which form our priorities, prejudices and judgements. For some of us, this remains our station throughout an entire lifetime. Further deepening our unique sense of individuality. This state of consciousness is neither good nor bad per se, but in a sense there is a failure to launch because in such a place of being, sometimes a deeper sense of the individuality of other beings, and their particular needs may come in second to our interest in ourselves.

Group Consciousness:

Another level of our individuality is the move toward sharing a “Group Consciousness” with a segment of people that could be any size and kind. Sharing any number of various thoughts that you hold in common.

Granted, this may be the starting place for some of us who emerge with deep family ties or ties to a particular cultural or racial ethnicity. But essentially, it’s the expanded idea that, “I exist, and there are others who exist whom (I perceive) are very like minded to me. We see, believe and respond to things the same way.” This may result in any number of group mentalities and may also be illustrated by a movement from one group to another, clinging to our original “individual perspective” and seeking out a group that best aligns with our unique pattern. It’s worth acknowledging as a human being, we’re communal, in the sense that most of us grow up in a family model, and receive our support, affirmation or simple companionship through these group or family affiliations. Safe to say we all understand the desire for us to “belong” is a strong one.

Our challenge in the journey toward enlightenment is that such group mindsets don’t yield much when one of the links in its chain is seeking to elevate or pull in another direction. As a natural response, in order to maintain equilibrium, this results in keeping the group in a static place of existence devoid of much progression other than the rare instances where the group as a whole evolves upwardly. Unfortunately, what we often observe in this setting is the lowest common denominator often becomes the watermark for maintaining the status quo.

The “Group Consciousness” also tends to exist within an aesthetic that is consumed with borders, boundaries and differences. “This and such and such a thing separates us from those and such and such a thing.” Illustrated today by those group mentalities myriad in political, societal, ethnic and ideological groupings.

Here’s a river you may have trouble crossing on your journey toward practical enlightenment: One challenge some will have is seeing that the group consciousness exists within our religious affiliation and church family as well. As with all the other elements of our individual spiritual paths, this particular detail will need to be examined. On one hand, the church home provides a valued and desired sense of belonging and friendship, and opportunities to be of service. On the other hand however, we tend to think it exists to serve as the key component or even the final stop on our spiritual journey. It isn’t.

As suggested earlier, seeking practical enlightenment is not a religious pursuit. In sharing concepts about enlightenment Jesus said to a woman at a water well, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Therefore, to my understanding, the role of any church is to create spiritually, self regulating individuals who are transformed and enlightened in such a way that they no longer need the church. That seldom occurs.

Regardless of the group affiliation we find ourselves within, whether societal, familial or religious, it’s common to discover your deeper sensibilities long for some kind of growth. It’s a natural response. So if and when we encounter that desire, and look to change course, consider the response as if traveling the highway and pulling off to enter a “Weigh Station.” The ones we observe on the freeways which require trucks transporting large loads, to literally pull off the road to both take an accounting of the cargo they’ve been carrying and examine the equipment they’re using to haul that load. I suggest our encounters with such “weigh stations” are normal, natural and necessary, and may recur throughout our lifetime. In response, we ultimately adjust our load by removing the cargo slowing us to allow us make better progress.

You won’t be the first to leave the group. It’s part of the growth process and as natural as a tree that grows at an angle in response to those neighboring trees found blocking its sun. You also won’t be the first to experience a bit of vacuum to fill the void created by stepping away. Simply be patient and remember you’re not just stepping away, you’re taking deliberate steps toward something with the potential to be transformational or even transcendent.

I’d humbly suggest that whatever good is derived from the sense of belonging and support provided by such clusters of people, that the deeper forms of group consciousness is stalling our greater progress as a collective species and carries the greatest potential for our ultimate demise.

Universal Perspective or Universal Consciousness:

The next level we encounter is a Universal Perspective or Universal Consciousness.

In this awakening, we begin to see that all beings long for the same expansion and deeper evolution that makes up their own individual "soulular" unfolding. We begin to recognize that whatever our group needed and provided us are the same needs and provisions needed by every other individual. Boundaries become less as important as who and what is behind the walls we once perceived. In a Universal Consciousness, societal hierarchies tend to dissolve. It matters not whether we encounter a Brain Surgeon or a member of the wait Staff at a humble eatery, we see through a lens that brings to the forefront the light that exists within each and every being. Regardless of status, stature or even state of mind. The greatest opportunity for the masses in demonstrating what it is to be enlightened exists within a Universal Consciousness. If I have food and provision and I have awareness that another being lacks the same, somehow I’m moved with empathy and the ability to see beyond the needs of me alone or the needs of my group and instead see with a greater vision that brings such universal needs into my line of sight.

The Universal Consciousness however, is not a perfect place of being nor delivers perfect responses. We operate and exist within such a state imperfectly. But notice - there’s a difference in this model. We don’t presume we exist as fallen beings, or as wretched failures who must pass unto an afterlife to achieve a higher state or even perfection. Instead we accept the truth that within us, we possess all that’s needed to respond at a higher level of consciousness. We allow ourselves to step beyond all those ideas that limit us and to transcend such limits and to cross over such boundaries. But again, not with perfect execution, and possibly without any action whatsoever. But most importantly, we learn and know deep within that our response to the world around us is entirely up to us.

The Eternal Perspective and Eternal Consciousness:

Finally, there is an Eternal Consciousness. This is the highest form of enlightened sensibility, a pillar by the way that we shall observe from time to time the higher we climb the mountain of Group and Universal Consciousness. In this place of Eternal being, much of our need for our own comfort or survival gives way to the greater needs of others. We’ve seen people throughout time who simply had something to give to the world that was of far greater importance than anything else: Jesus, Gandhi Mother Teresa, Dr. Martin Luther King. Similarly, the soldier who storms bravely into battle, or the lifeguard that dives into a raging current to save a swimmer she or he doesn’t even know. The examples are endless of people through vocation or through "invocation" awaken and respond to life in extraordinary ways that transcend ordinary responses limited by concepts of living and dying.

Jesus referred to the concepts of eternal life, abundant life and life everlasting. To illustrate these ideas he gave examples for our response to aspects of life that suggest our ego and even our survival instincts exist as a stumbling block to our spiritual transformation. Consider his statements:

“When someone strikes you on one cheek, in response offer the other.”

"When someone takes your coat from you, in response offer instead your remaining clothes.”

"Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.”

And so another difficult river to cross on our journey. One I suggest that we may find ourselves avoiding or possibly never transcending. As with the difficult concepts associated with our responses to adversity so it is, that in a higher state of consciousness we would begin to “let go” of those things that we cling to for both our identification and our survival. Difficult? Oh - hell - yes. I myself continue to exercise and even train for some imaginary altercation that will demand my self defense. But the challenging reality is at the higher levels of existence, Jesus suggested this is a key component to what may serve to provide our ultimate “peace.” Whether this concept is given a “seat at the table” and whether we ever get to the place where we take notice and “serve it,” will remain to be seen.

Volumes are written on the subject of enlightenment. This is less than a grain of sand in the ocean of ideas and inspiration.

Practical Enlightenment; A summary:

• Become aware of your thoughts and consider the things behind them that propel or perpetuate them.

• Call into attention those thoughts that serve you or otherwise require revision in order and seek to maintain those with the potential to have transformative results.

• Take the necessary steps toward learning to love yourself. Remove all your own internal self judgements and “allow yourself permission” to receive the spiritual blessings of love, forgiveness, kindness, patience, empathy, and care given firstly to yourself by you! Maintain this basis as your priority and home base throughout life.

• Measure how the process of loving ourselves is working by how easily or how natural it is for us to truly exemplify the same kind of love for our fellow beings.

• Develop your own unique spiritual practice for achieving all of the above. Recognize many others have traveled the same roads, whose work exists to help you to recognize the landscape you’re encountering or the horizons you’re aiming toward. Whether through study, contemplation, meditation, acts of blessing, seeking inspiration, acts of charity, exercise, diet, or in whatever form we choose.

• You are your ultimate guru and teacher. The same creative love intelligence that supports and provides for the growth of every seed in the earth and has created each with complete uniqueness exists to support your spiritual journey.

• Accept that the entire process for successful living or successful “anything” will not be perfect. Accept that the frequency we’re vibrating at is subject to change. Seek out solutions for raising up your vibrational energies. You may be encountering a shift or a natural progression from one state of consciousness to another. See it all as a path upward unto new levels of transformation, consciousness and enlightenment.

• There is no specific destination, or place of arrival. Consider where you are and where you'd like to be. Practical Enlightenment, Universal and Eternal mindsets resemble something like a beam of light that is never ending.

• Allow yourself the freedom to step away from judgements of good and evil, blessing and curses, surrender or survival. Consider the entirety of your journey to be interconnected from the most obvious occurrence to the slightest details.

• In a profound way, the more we let go and surrender our ego and our manner for survival and self identifying, the greater opportunity we will have for inner peace.

It's all a journey: Complete with U turns, side roads, dead ends, stalls, loss of fuel, various modes of transportation and with varying degrees of comfort. In closing, for considering such a journey, I’d suggest these travel guides: Be patient, remain open minded, don’t think in black and white concepts, and allow yourself the grace to simply explore and to go far beyond my simple story. Being “intentional” about anything will always present a response in “like kind.” Jesus taught the greatest lesson in the overarching architecture that surrounds our existence by, “The measure you give, is the measure you will receive,” and “What seeds you plant, such fruit shall you harvest.” So if you do take steps to go beyond your present state of being, expect a shift. And over time should a shift begin to occur, follow it. Once you’ve been moved by your shifting perspective, be aware that your new path may not be a straight line. But not to worry, because there’s a very good chance your “current path” may not be all that straight either.

May we all put on our best pair of walking shoes, turn ourselves toward the light,

and get to steppin!