A Peacefully Purple Pathway for 2017

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference.” It’s those ever so popular poetic words from Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” that I ruminate upon this New Year’s. The road less traveled in my life is what I refer to as my Peacefully Purple Pathway.

I’ve traveled down the worn, paved, pot hole-filled road with stop and go vehicle traffic, honking horns and gas fumes. You merge only to not get anywhere fast. You sit, with engines purring and your wheels spinning to a halt. Your blood pressure spikes as you swerve to avoid the divot in the road. Separated by countless steel contraptions, the feeling of being trapped and utterly alone is evident. Everyone is competitive and wanting to cut you off just to get a couple inches ahead. There is no camaraderie or collaboration. Anger and passive aggressiveness swirl around, bouncing off the yellow glow of headlights. Anxiety and stress set in as you feel as if you will never reach your destination in time. The incessant New Year’s Day resolution noise from the radio and everyone around you, distract you from your purpose.

Finding your purpose is what the Peacefully Purple Pathway is all about. This small, narrow dirt side road, with a meadow of purple lavender breezily waving in the wind alongside it, is made only for you. However you choose to maneuver it - walk, run, ride - it is always ready and open, with an ever-expanding horizon as far as the eye can see.  Although it may seem clouded in dust and inefficient because it is out of the way and laid with fresh, untouched dirt, that is the beauty of it. It is what you make of it. It isn’t tried and true with a predictable outcome. The longer you carefully tread its windy, steep trail, the easier it gets and your momentum increases. Ambition, energy and creativity carve out additional divergent hiking routes that build bridges to happiness, peace and meaning.

Tune out the New Year’s resolutions that infiltrate fakery. These meaningless, empty, unoriginal resolutions tell you that you will find happiness and peace in exercising more, meditating to reduce stress, eating less to lose weight and doing yoga to relax. You will not find more than small bursts of happiness in actions alone. The root of feeling content is in the path you’ve chosen for yourself. If you are traveling on a worn, competitive freeway, where irony abounds in the fact there is no freedom on the road you trek upon, perhaps you need to reassess what really matters in your life. Does living in a suit and working in a corporate jungle really make you happy? Is it what you truly want out of life? Does more money make you happy? Can you live on less money, adjust your lifestyle and be happier? I don’t care who you are or what financial position you are in - everyone has a choice. The choice simply is what are you willing to give up or sacrifice to find your bliss. Some might say that you shouldn’t have to sacrifice anything to achieve the ultimate pedestal of contentment. Yet I argue that you usually have to give up something that you previously thought brought you satisfaction but instead caused lingering stress, anxiety and perhaps even a stomachache. You can choose to avoid the obvious and even make yourself believe that these feelings have other associations but the truth reveals itself eventually. It’s about being true to yourself and finding out who you are as a person and what that means in terms of what the heck you are supposed to be doing on this place called Earth.

As human beings, we often subject ourselves to all sorts of drudgeries and we often are creatures of multitasking, but we usually are only truly great at a few things in our lives. What if you could actually focus on only these few things you are truly great at? Now that is a novel idea. You may have a million excuses as to why you can’t do that, but let me tell you that it is possible. It is just a matter of being honest with yourself, acknowledging what is holding you back, and taking action to change your path. Finding your Peacefully Purple Pathway is possible. It’s about not giving up on you and ignoring all the distractions that cloud your best judgment. Life does get in the way, but don’t let the fakery takeover. Actions only become meaningful when they have purpose or should I say Purple Purpose. That’s what makes all the difference.