The search

“Search for yourself, by yourself. Do not allow others to make your path for you. It is your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you”

Unknown Native American



I love this quote because there are great lessons embedded within it. Notice that the beginning says “Search for yourself” Many people are seekers, they are looking for answers from external sources believing that someone else must have the answers they seek. Much like the old country song says, “I was searching for love in all the wrong places…” many people tend to seek via the external all the while when what they truly seek is themselves. Within us we have all we will ever need. Yes, external sources are valuable, they may act as a catalyst for self discovery however it is a futile effort to chase after answers external to our self.

The second part of this quote, “Do not allow others to make your path for you. It is your road and yours alone” is a great lesson and compliments the first part. To me this is again saying that that which we seek is within us and the inward journey is a journey of solitude and that rather than follow the paths that others blazed we have be courageous and blaze our own path. If we try to follow the path of another we are doomed to not be our authentic self," live a life which is not aligned and thus suffer as a result."

The final part of this wise quote, “Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you” is very important. This says to me that we are social and that it's good to have companionship and love of others as we travel our path, however it is still our path. It also clearly states that we each must walk our own path, blaze our own trail and seek our own truth. No one can walk our path for us. Some may try, however only we can walk our own path. Even a person with all the money in the world cannot pay someone to walk their path for them. The path we seek and the path we discover and walk is the great equalizer. Be you a person of great material wealth or a beggar on the street you must still own and walk your own path.