Wayfinding and your life's true path

In a recent comment on this blog, Johnnie Moore points to a thought-provoking post by Chris Corrigan about a conversation he had with Sonny Diabo, an Elder from Kahnewake, a First Nation across the river from Montreal. Sonny was talking about the idea of a life's true path, and finding our way along it.

Sonny talked to me about two ways we deviate from this true path, and he described them as right side and left side paths, although he didn't know why these specific terms are used. Evidently, this teaching is based on the patterns on a turtle shell...so the shape might be explained that way. Right side diversions are those, like addictions, which are so easy to take that one hardly knows one is out there until one's life intersects with one's true path again in an experience which can be as traumatic as it is healing. It is traumatic because it makes one realize how far one has strayed from the path, but it can be healing to finally "come home" to one's true nature. Sonny used the example of a long time alcoholic who sobers up and who suddenly realizes how far he has strayed. This experience sometimes coincides with a rite of passage, such as becoming a parent or a grandparent, or perhaps grieving the death of one's father. All of these situations throw one's true nature into the light.

The left side diversions are, unlike addictions, full of obstacles that we are forced to struggle against. Sometimes we know we are off our path when we hit a wall and it seems impossible to move without introspection and retreat to find our path again. Shifting jobs from something you hate, with no prospects to something you love and is full of possibility is an example of these struggles and how they can return us to something truer if we take time to reflect on what they mean.

I see both of these a lot in the people I talk to who are ready to make a career change to something filled with meaning and joy. On the right side, maybe the source of insight is something big, like 9/11. Or something more personal, like the death of a parent, or a divorce. The "easy to take path" is often in pursuit of money, status, or what "they" say career should look like - none of which has anything to do with who that person really is.

On the left side, I see people stuck in their careers, realizing that what they thought would be a rocket ride in their younger days has gotten bogged down and is going nowhere (that's what happened to me before I discovered my Passion Catalyst path). Occasionally it's job search related. As they bang their head against the job search wall, they finally figure out, "This isn't meant to happen," and decide to move towards something new.

Whichever side is the catalyst for change, the shift in energy when people align themselves with their true path - I use the analogy of following the river bed, rather than trying to push the water up and over the mountain - is incredible.

Chris goes on to relay some advice those of us caught up in the go-go-gotta-make-it-happen world could all benefit from.

Sonny therefore advocates an approach to life that he calls "two steps forward and one step back." There is an implicit distrust of easy progress, requiring one to ensure that one hasn't strayed into a right hand side diversion. Building in periods of reflection serves to confirm progress and also make retreat easier, should that need to happen.

Sonny alludes to this in his openings to meetings, and also frequently during the meetings themselves. He invites people to work slowly and carefully and not to rush things. "Whatever we don't finish today," he says, "we can finish tomorrow or do another time." This has the duel effect of focusing people on what is really important while at the same time seeming to expand the time available for completing tasks.

One of the biggest roadblocks I see out there is an impatience to make it all happen RIGHT NOW. There is a false sense of urgency that ends up being counter-productive - if people can't make it happen RIGHT NOW, the frustration builds and they lose their momentum. Realizing that it's a process, building in time for reflection, celebrating the progress we've made, adjusting what doesn't seem to be working, and moving forward again can be an invaluable approach.

Comments

[Chris Corrigan]

Hey:

Really appreciate that you found Sonny's teaching as valuable as I did. What is missing from my recounting of it is the gentleness and generosity of his manner when he speaks. I tried to capture that in my writing, and I notice that you've done a pretty good job in this further explication.

This blog is great as usual...thanks!

[targets]

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