I think most of us grew up in a environment that schooled us to believe that the shortest path between any given 2 points is a straight line. That is correct as far as most of us are concerned. With that most of us would also believe that there is always a defined path to get from one point to another. Another way to say this is - there is always a defined path to get to a goal. For example, from the Asian cultural perspective, getting good grades in school is the key to landing a stable job and a good life in the future. However, honestly speaking, do you think there exist 2 people who have the exactly the same job got there via the exact same path? And how many people does anyone know who took the same path someone took but ended up in a different place in life (different from what was expected)? These were the truths that came to me as I pondered on the Theory of Happenstance for career counseling; far from thinking about just counseling per se, I was more thinking about life itself and the path/s we each take.
Despite what high levels of education has afforded me, and what wisdom the words of Elderly people have given me, I do not think there is a set path to get anywhere. After the first year of working in the real world, you learn very quickly a few things;
1. There is no right or wrong (ie. the world is not so black and white as we have been led to believe), only grey areas. Everything is a shade of grey.
2. Ignore what everyone tells you about getting somewhere (in life) via a certain way. It NEVER works. It only worked for that one person who did it. You have to find your own way there.
Now, as I review and think about all this, I think its quite true. The way to your own personal enlightenment is your own way. You will never experience the same things Shakyamuni Buddha went through to gain enlightenment, similarly you will never understand the things Jesus did by walking in the same footsteps. This is not to say that there is no wisdom in any of their teachings, or the teachings of any other religion for that matter. We have to find our own enlightenment, in our own way by experiencing the things we need to go through to get there. And each of our experiences (or life journey) to get there is unique in its own way. When we all get to our final destination with the wisdom we have earned, then we will begin the appreciate the wisdom of all the sages that had gone before us.
