Paths, walkways, streets, and highways have long been a part of human life. Life seems to like the straight-and-narrow. Even animals make and then use beaten paths. Following a previously traversed route has even put certain images into the cultural psyche: Route 66, Oregon Trail, Trail of Tears, the Silk Road, all bring to mind not only geography, but also tales of heroism and despair, stories of adventure and trial, and visions of a hopefulness that comes with traveling to new places. So, after centuries of making trails that cross the planet on both land and sea, we come to a time when stepping off the beaten path brings a certain joy and excitement. Of course, there are those who prefer the walk they’ve walked, the stroll past the familiar. Known routes are generally safe routes because the traveler knows what to expect.
We shouldn’t fault ourselves for not being the first to make a path. Not everyone gets to be a Phoenician, a Viking, a Mediterranean sailor, or an Astronaut. Similarly, we shouldn’t fault ourselves if our thoughts have been the thoughts of those who have walked before us. We might follow a path made by ancestors, but we all take different steps. The nuances of our thoughts make thought-trails different. We see them as insights. We think of ourselves as off-roading. Our maps are personal surveys of landscapes never measured.
Recognizing that others have walked similar, but not exact, paths keeps us humble. Knowing that we walk a different step here or there—if only slightly off trodden ground—gives us a sense of Self.
As you walk and think today, take an occasional sideways step to do a little “off-roading.” You don’t have to wander too far. You don’t have to get lost. And, as you know, when any of us go way off the trail others follow, two things can happen: We can’t find our way back, and those who look for us give up the search.
You’re not going to discover a totally new world previously unknown by such off-roading, but you will discover a bit of Self no one has ever experienced. You might stumble upon a new perspective that no one else will ever see. (It is difficult to get others to follow along an unfamiliar trail) But remember that humans have conquered the planet step by step.
There’s an explorer in most people, and that’s why universities have departments and academics have specializations. Take archaeology as an example. Main path? Guys like Heinrich Schliemann discovered Troy. Archaeology at first meant finding old stuff and places. “Not enough,” a second, third, and fourth generation of archaeologists said. So, now we have the subdisciplines like aerial archaeology, archaeoastronomy, archaeozoology, archaeobotany, calceology, computational archaeology, maritime archaeology, osteology, and the list goes on. Little steps off the beaten path, exploration by baby steps, and the discovery of whole new worlds called categories, or subdisciplines, or specializations. Want to see how we off-road? Look at the list of courses for any university major field of study. Look at the credentials of every academic. Eighteenth-century “naturalists” have branched; the road has divided. We might not be able to look back on the personal “road not taken,” to use Frost’s words, but we can look back to see many have taken many roads, and we can look ahead to see bits of untrodden earth, nuances of philosophy, and variations of study. It’s how civilization expands, tiny off-road explorations.
Where will you step today? Have a desire for some off-roading?
We shouldn’t fault ourselves for not being the first to make a path. Not everyone gets to be a Phoenician, a Viking, a Mediterranean sailor, or an Astronaut. Similarly, we shouldn’t fault ourselves if our thoughts have been the thoughts of those who have walked before us. We might follow a path made by ancestors, but we all take different steps. The nuances of our thoughts make thought-trails different. We see them as insights. We think of ourselves as off-roading. Our maps are personal surveys of landscapes never measured.
Recognizing that others have walked similar, but not exact, paths keeps us humble. Knowing that we walk a different step here or there—if only slightly off trodden ground—gives us a sense of Self.
As you walk and think today, take an occasional sideways step to do a little “off-roading.” You don’t have to wander too far. You don’t have to get lost. And, as you know, when any of us go way off the trail others follow, two things can happen: We can’t find our way back, and those who look for us give up the search.
You’re not going to discover a totally new world previously unknown by such off-roading, but you will discover a bit of Self no one has ever experienced. You might stumble upon a new perspective that no one else will ever see. (It is difficult to get others to follow along an unfamiliar trail) But remember that humans have conquered the planet step by step.
There’s an explorer in most people, and that’s why universities have departments and academics have specializations. Take archaeology as an example. Main path? Guys like Heinrich Schliemann discovered Troy. Archaeology at first meant finding old stuff and places. “Not enough,” a second, third, and fourth generation of archaeologists said. So, now we have the subdisciplines like aerial archaeology, archaeoastronomy, archaeozoology, archaeobotany, calceology, computational archaeology, maritime archaeology, osteology, and the list goes on. Little steps off the beaten path, exploration by baby steps, and the discovery of whole new worlds called categories, or subdisciplines, or specializations. Want to see how we off-road? Look at the list of courses for any university major field of study. Look at the credentials of every academic. Eighteenth-century “naturalists” have branched; the road has divided. We might not be able to look back on the personal “road not taken,” to use Frost’s words, but we can look back to see many have taken many roads, and we can look ahead to see bits of untrodden earth, nuances of philosophy, and variations of study. It’s how civilization expands, tiny off-road explorations.
Where will you step today? Have a desire for some off-roading?
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