on forging your own way..............

 

     This idea of forging your own path, of being a trailblazer, is beautifully illustrated in an old Arthurian legend, La Queste del Saint Graal, written by an anonymous monk in the thirteenth century.  In the story, the knights of the Round Table are inspired to seek the Holy Grail after it briefly appears before them.  But instead of setting out together, they make a profound choice.  As the text reads, "They thought it would be a disgrace to go forth in a group.  Each entered the Forest Adventurous at that point which he himself had chosen, where it was darkest and there was no way or path."

     The renowned mythologist Joseph Campbell often cited this tale as a powerful metaphor for the individual's journey through life.  To Campbell, it captured the essence of having the courage to follow your own path and find what truly fulfills you.  "Where there's a way or a path," Campbell writes, "it is someone else's path."

     What Campbell means here is profound:  The well-trodden paths in life—the ones that are clear and easy to follow—have already been carved by others.  These paths represent conventional wisdom, societal expectations, or traditional routes to success.  But true fulfillment, Campbell suggests, comes from forging your own way.

-George Raveling, What You're Made For: Powerful Life Lessons from My Career in Sports