“DD” THE WAY

(The Tao Te Ching) The Way is mighty, yet people prefer smaller paths. 

Looking back over life, how many times have you chosen a smaller path? Why do we tend to choose the easier and smaller paths?

I chose smaller paths most of my life.

It was easier to drink away worries and fears as opposed to look at them head on -- I chose drunken and wreckless romance many times over instead of working on a real definition of love.

I looked for quicker routes to okay endings as opposed to the harder routes leading to wonderful endings which would have taken longer and required more effort.

I chose the world time and time again because it was easier to say, “oh well” instead of “yes Lord.”

I chose to run away from the conflict I created as opposed to taking responsibility and walking through the issues arising and fixing them one by one.

I chose to hide from God as opposed to embrace and accept the grace of God.

I chose to see God as judgmental as opposed to loving.

I chose to be afraid of success as opposed to embrace the effort it takes to make success a viable option for the future.

The truth of the matter is, people choose smaller paths because they feel they have control over the outcomes of smaller choices. It takes faith, real faith, to choose a harder but more lucrative path, especially if we’re uncertain what the outcome might be at the end of the effort.

There is no mightier a path than chasing after God, embracing the Way, surrendering your life over to a power greater than yourself. It’s easier to stay stuck in grief and apathy than have faith in the possibility of God removing these issues from your life entirely. We grow attached to the stories we tell ourselves regarding victimhood and being shortchanged by life.  

There is nothing short on power in the Way, in fact, as is stated in the quote above, the Way is mighty.

If you always choose a smaller path, what do you know of God? What do you know of anything other than weakness, suffering, and pain?

Pursuing the Way is a choice, a choice which requires the same amount of energy to say yes to as it does to keep saying no. We say no out of fear, and when you say no to the Way, you’re choosing victimhood over freedom.