The Consequences of Walking the True Path: Letting Go of the Old Life

In my last post, I wrote about the rewards that come from following your heart and walking your true path in life.  That set me to thinking about what might be the consequences, if any, of following that path?  You'll often read or hear people extolling the virtues of following your heart and realising your dreams.  They will tell you how amazing it is, what a positive experience it is, how it changed their lives for the better, and all of this is certainly true.  I would never deter anyone from following their heart and discovering their true calling.  But there are things that I learned on my journey, that I did not consider before I began.  There are consequences in life to everything that we do, and walking your true path is no different.

For me, the hardest realisation to come to terms with, was that I had to let go of my old life.  I lived 35 years in that old life.  I knew it, I knew how to live in it, and I believed it was a trusted friend.  My old life was never bad to me, in fact, it had treated me pretty well.  I never set into motion the changes in my life out of desperation, I did it because I knew that I could no longer go on ignoring my heart and living a lie.  My old life didn't cause me any major problems and I could have continued along that old path for many more years, slowly cruising along, going through the motions, treading water, but never going anywhere that truly meant something to me.  When I set out, I had no expectations of how my life was going to change, and certainly no idea of how I would find the fulfilment and achieve the sense of accomplishment that I have today.  I was a blind man who dared to take a step into the darkness.

In the early days, after I left work and started out, it seemed as though I could stretch out my hand and take a hold of that old life.  I had contacts, I had left the company I worked for on good terms, and I was not going to work for a competitor, or any other company for that matter.  I felt sure that if I wanted it, they would take me back again.  Rightly or wrongly, this gave me a sense of security.  During that first year on my path, I felt the need to try to cling to the old world, like a child clings to their favourite soft toy or blanket for comfort.  I think what I was doing was looking for some sense of self-worth and I thought that the position I had reached in my career had given that to me.  I later came to realise that this could not possibly be true, since your sense of self-worth comes from within and it cannot be generated from external influences and factors.  You achieve a sense of self-worth by walking your true path.

After that first year, I began to see that the way back into the old life was closing on me, if it had ever actually existed in the first place.  The contacts were ebbing away, due to the fast changing nature of the environment in which I had worked, my knowledge and skills were slowly becoming obsolete, and my CV (resume) now had a one year gap to explain.  I either had to jump back in at this point, or I could probably kiss it all goodbye.

It is frightening proposition to consider losing all that once you held dear.  For me, the old life offered financial stability and security.  When I was at work in the office, I knew what to do and I could do it well.  I was trusted and respected for my knowledge, the way I applied it and for my professionalism.  I began to question what would happen if I did not have that financial stability any longer?  Everyone around me was building their lives up, always working towards a better, bigger home, a newer car, a nice holiday, putting money away into a pension.  Doing all of the things that society and culture told them they should do.  I, on the other hand, had systematically taken my life apart, quitting my career, selling my property and all of my assets, and downsizing dramatically.  I felt in some ways caught between two different worlds.  In one hand, I had the old life, stability and conformity.  While in the other, I had a new life, a sense of freedom and inner peace, and with that new life, came uncertainty.

I asked myself if it might be possible to combine both lives, by taking some of what I had discovered on my new path and by applying it to the old?  But I dismissed this idea quickly.  There was no way I could combine the two, and even if I could have done, I don't think I would have actually chosen to do it.  Whichever path I chose, I knew that I would have to be 100% committed to it.  There was no halfway measure.

Which did I choose?  I took the only option that was really open to me.  I drew a deep breath, took a leap of faith, and I followed my heart on to another new adventure and the fulfilment of another dream.  I closed the door to my old life and welcomed in the new.  There was never really a choice to make, only a reluctance to finally say goodbye to the old life, to turn once and for all from the old path.

It will be the same for anyone who chooses their true path over the one that they currently walk.  There is no going back once you leave the old ways.  If you could and you did, how long do you think you would remain happy and content, knowing that there was another way to live, that there existed a path that was more spiritually rewarding and fulfilling?  Could you honestly turn back to the old path and remain true to yourself and your beliefs?  Quite simply, no.

Once you start down the new path, you have to be prepared to say goodbye to your old life.  You need to be 100% committed to your life choice.  You have to be open and ready for everything that is going to happen to you.  Once you close that door on the old life, lock it and throw away the key.  You will not be going back.

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