.... you make your own path as you walk

About two weeks ago, I was trying to describe to my coach (yes, I do have a creativity coach) how I happened to be in a (metaphorical) place where I felt a bit lost. It was as if all the clarity of previous weeks and months was obscured by a very thick fog and I could see just about a meter in front of me, but nothing else. I was trying to describe to her, that it wasn't just fog, it seemed as if the path wasn't there at all. I voiced my concern, that I might be just walking in circles instead of keeping my direction to where I’d like to go. (And yes, I love a good metaphor, lol).

When she was listening to me, she remembered a poem. It is called Caminante no hay camino and was written by Antonio Machado. The point of the poem is, there is no path to follow. The path is made by walking and you can see it only when you look back, knowing you will never walk there again.

People who create art, new businesses or are trying to live on their own terms, don’t have a path to follow. We all have to figure it out, there is wilderness and us. The motorways and pavements and "walks in the parks" where most people gather, do not interest us. They are miles away where we can hardly see or hear them.

It is not the most convenient choice, but it is the only one that feels true. One step at a time, walking forward in unknown territory. The side effect of this situation is, that we can often feel lost. And everything only starts making sense when we look back.

From this perspective, feeling lost is a good thing. It is a sign that we are genuinely present on our own path and not following anyone else’s prescriptions and shoulds (nothing wrong with that, if that’s what you want, of course).

I’m still struck by the wisdom and beauty of this imagery. It is something I want to keep on top of my mind every time I feel insecure and disoriented.

At the end of the day, the fog will always clear up and the milestones will become visible. Until then, it is just one step at a time…

The poem is:

Antonio Machado

“Caminante, son tus huellas
el camino y nada más;
Caminante, no hay camino,
se hace camino al andar.
Al andar se hace el camino,
y al volver la vista atrás
se ve la senda que nunca
se ha de volver a pisar.
Caminante, no hay camino
sino estelas en la mar.”

Traveler, your footprints
are the only road, nothing else.
Traveler, there is no road;
you make your own path as you walk.
As you walk, you make your own road,
and when you look back
you see the path
you will never travel again.
Traveler, there is no road;

only a ship's wake on the sea.

A glimpse of wilderness in the Irish overcultivated landscape… That’s where I want to be!