Footsteps

It’s not an easier way. Or necessarily a prettier way. It’s just a different way. To get to the same watering hole we are all trying to reach before we give out. I find it puzzling how much we criticize and judge each other for choosing paths that are not the same as the one that we have chosen for ourselves.

I think a lot of it has to do with the fear of missing out. The fear of walking the wrong path. For most of us have followed blindly what has been laid out in front of us. On the assumption that it’s not just the easy way, but the one meant for us since so many are pointing us towards it. Neglecting to inform us beforehand that they have not found any value in following a path that has lost all its magic, all its beauty, even to the ones who willingly continue to walk it.

I don’t want to follow someone’s footsteps. Neither would I want someone to follow mine. Other’s footsteps only lead them where they need to be and their excursions exposes them to the experiences that were meant for them. Not for me. The same goes for the path I lay for myself. The detours and obstacles I have encountered and will encounter are meant for me. To either redirect me back on course or to figure out a way to get through.

I love to hear about others people journey. The places they have been, the people they have met, the things they have done in their lives. I love to hear how people had to adapt to the course that they chose and the things they encountered that helped them along the way. It provides me with clues for my path, things that I may want to look out for, or things that I may want to look forward to. It also makes me appreciate my own path. So much more.

I don’t want to follow someone’s footsteps. Neither would I want someone to follow mine. I wouldn’t even follow my own footsteps if I had to do it over again. Not just based on the if I knew at the beginning of my path what I know now principle. No, simply because no experience can be relived the same way. Not even by the same person.