Paths

[k_a_nitz]

Recently I was thinking about the idea that the path is not the direction, and the related idea that "the direct way is the labyrinth" (see Christoph Hein's Der Tangospieler). And just today a relevant quote was brought to my attention:

Where there is a way or path, it is someone else’s path. You are not on your own path. If you follow someone else’s way, you are not going to realize your potential. Eternity is a dimension of here and now. The divine lives within you. - Joseph Campbell

 

This idea that where there is a path it must have been created by someone also seems quite relevant to the idea of egregores. It also suggests that when you talk about choosing your path, you should be clear about whether you are choosing an existing path for your own, or are choosing to lay down a new path.
But that also brings the question of what the difference is between a path you can follow and a path taken. There may be no pre-existing path, but in taking a path are you creating a path? And does awareness matter? Could you be following someone else's path without knowing it? There is a lot in Campbell's statements to disagree with, but it is good fodder for contemplation.

On a side note, the tenth and last of my translations of Johann Baptist Krebs's work is now available for pre-order (official publication date: 1 June 2026):

Krebs, Johann Baptist. Meditations over Gospel Truths for Every Day of the Year. Whanganui: K A Nitz, June 2026.
ISBN: 978-0-473-78773-8
A translation of Betrachtungen über evangelische Wahrheiten auf alle Tage des Jahres  (first published 1851 under the pseudonym J. B. Kerning).