After a short stop in Sarina, I end up in Clairview where I go for a beach stroll. When walking over the dunes, the beauty of the place overwhelms me.

For a few minutes I can only stare and absorb, be surprised and astonished. Behind the zone of mangroves, dried sand and rocks, the ocean has morphed into strings of various shades of turquoise, only to be interrupted by the small islands that pop-up at the horizon.

I’ve lived in the Whitsundays and one should think we get used to the magnificent magic of the ocean, but it still gets at me.

Three Ways of Life

I go for a short stroll, and think off how there are different pathways in life, which people can take.

There are the well-known and pre-written pathways which are created by ancestors, expectations of families, wired by generations of knowledge and skills.

Other well-known and pre-written pathways are created by the tribe of friends, colleagues, or family, which people follow out of pressure, respect, comfort, or curiosity.

Third, there is a category of unknown pathways, which even haven’t been written yet. They are created on the go, step by step, guided by the values, mission, and vision of the walker.

Without a Path, not Without a Mission

The latter might be without a path, but it doesn’t mean he is without a mission. He is pathless, but not clueless. He might know where he is up to, even though only subconsciously, although he cannot precisely capture it in words nor images. His path exists within him, and it is a matter of time and careful listening before it unfolds itself.

He is pathless, not clueless

The first two categories are the most common ones, and most people end up in one or the other. The third one however is less common, but therefore not less challenging. Moreover, since they are less common, the ones who get on this track are often considered as off-track. The ones who take off on this mission often seem to be lost, not having a straight line going towards their direction, if they even have a clear direction articulated.

However, they aren’t lost; rather they are on their way to find their unique pathway and walk the path they are intended to be on. They are creating their way through life, which might seem purposeless for an outsider, but building their path is the purpose as such. They find meaning on the go, rather than on the arrival.

Once on this track, one might feel lost, or seem lost, which is considered as something negative, provoking anxiety or judgement. However, being lost is inherent to this way of life; it is where they find the light, harvest insight, and wisdom.

Since this pathway has to be created yet, it has to be created by trial-and-error, by getting on the road and getting lost, by wondering and wandering. The very feeling of being lost, means that they are on the way; and aren’t accommodating for an already existing pathway.

The Drugs Don’t Work

Unfortunately, many of the born explorers who get off the beaten track, are ill-prepared. They have no clue of the mission they’re up to, or they lose the vision, and even the values, which form the compass of the wandering soul.

Some might be appealed to get onto one of the pre-written pathways eventually, and even get in such an anxiety for the unknown that they get stubborn and short-minded after all. However, when one accommodates for a path which isn’t the true calling, on the long-term a feeling of being lost will slowly take over; it isn’t a feeling of being lost on the road or in life, rather it is a feeling of having lost a part of themselves which they had to give up to fit in the prewritten path.

Following and creating an inexistent path aligned with the own values, vision, and mission, isn’t the easiest way, however it is the way that will bring the most inner peace, since it demands the less compromising on one’s true calling.

Not following the own path eventually makes one lose himself, even though one would think not to be lost anymore. Losing oneself will make one feel more lost than when one would lose the road while staying truthful to the own path – even though it doesn’t exist yet.

Many of the lost souls look for an answer in drugs or alcohol, or any kind of addiction which distracts them from their real mission, and numbs their real questioning soul. It might bring relief for a short while, but eventually, the road will start calling them again. In drugs and alcohol, a permanent solution will never be found. Or as The Verve sings: “The Drugs Don’t work”.

The Sound of Silence

From one song to the other, when walking along the shore of Clairview, absorbing all shades of blue, The Sound of Silence comes to my mind. Because it is insane silent at the beach. The houses look desolate, even the wind doesn’t whisper.

It could sound inconvenient, apocalyptical, however today it sounds peaceful and comforting. Only in the sound of silence one can hear the inner voice. So, I’m listening, genuine and open-minded.

A deep feeling of inner peace and gratitude fills me. Gratitude for those beautiful people I have met in the last year and a half, and who I never will forget, moreover of whom I hope our roads cross again soon. Inner peace because I took the right decision to get back on the road and flip a page, continuing to build my path through life.