“Path: a strip of land on which one walks.
The road differs from the path not only because it is traveled by car, but also in that it is a simple line connecting one point to another. The road itself has no meaning; only the two points it connects have meaning. The path is a tribute to space. Each section of the path is inherently endowed with meaning and invites us to stop. The road is a triumphant devaluation of space, which today is nothing more than an obstacle to human movement, a waste of time.
Even before disappearing from the landscape, paths have disappeared from the human soul; man no longer has the desire to walk and derive pleasure from it. He also sees his life not as a path, but as a road: like a line leading from one point to another, from the rank of captain to the rank of general, from the status of wife to widow. The time spent living has been reduced to a simple obstacle that must be overcome at an ever-increasing speed.”
Milan Kundera – The immortality
Follow the system’s highway or walk one’s life path? This choice represents two human destinies, depending on the choices made throughout life. Ultimately, nuance must be applied, because each of us is a mixture of these two paths. Depending on the choices made, one of the two paths will be more developed than the other, of course. But this depends on age, life context, overall maturity, etc. Mental notions of dualities (good or evil, positive or negative, highway or path, etc.) are limited here because they impose value judgments, simplistic moralism, and also a cultural and historical context. Nuances and discernment allow us to recognize the metaphysical principles hidden behind each path.
But overall, each path denotes a spiritual polarity and the consequences that all of this will entail:
– The broad path or the system’s highway: it’s about following the majority flow. Free will is not used. Free will is the ability of human beings to determine their identity based on themselves alone, and not on their environment and culture. Without the use of free will, life is entirely chosen by other external elements and determined by a causal chain. Because every effect is the consequence of a predetermined cause according to the theory of determinism. Or, to be fatalistic, the determination of one’s life is inevitable. Overall, this creates standardization and reinforces the centralization of societies. The key words for this path are: uniformity and determinism.
– The narrow path or the path of the soul: different and unique to each person. The direction of this path is the consequence of the use of free will, that is, of one’s individual will, which determines one’s life for oneself. This logic transcends many societal notions such as competition and hierarchy, because there is no longer any possibility of comparison. The only criterion becomes oneself, not bound by any human relationship or societal rule. But this freedom presents many difficulties and challenges. The key words of this path are: separation and distinction.
Each of us is a mixture of these two paths, which are sometimes very difficult to distinguish. This is why each case must be analyzed with discernment: A highway is a roadway reserved for high-speed motorized traffic. It has no level crossings, and the two directions of travel are separated by a central reservation or a guardrail.
A footpath is a narrow path in nature, which only allows pedestrians to pass. Every effect has a cause; the cause determines the effect. The cause is the origin, the effect its consequence.
To be on the highway is to be only the effect, to be controlled by causes beyond our control. To be on the path is to be in the realm of causes and not effects, to be an actor in one’s life.
The highway is the path of collectivism, of the WE, it is the path of the group. The path is the path of the soul, of the I, it is the solitary path.
Moving from the highway to the path is an individual journey, it is to tread one’s own path, one that cannot be taken by others or already traced. To know whether we are on the highway or on the path, we must ask ourselves the following questions: Is our life path an authentic expression of our inner self or does it simply reflect the external environment? Who determines the life path: the soul or society? The path allows us to express our own nature in matter; it is a revealer of our soul’s path, an exteriorization of our deepest being. Tracing our life path is therefore above all a process of interiorization to know ourselves, then of exteriorization.
The realization of our essence and the manifestation of our life mission. The highway is the straight and predictable path of causality: a cause generates a series of effects. Everything unfolds as initially planned. The path is the winding and unpredictable route of the life force: it unfolds like the journey of an animal in a trance, guided by the power of the present moment. Taking root in the world of Spirit, the soul acts instantly within matter, creating a constantly renewed path. This subject is central to our existence.