by Magi There are many analogies about our journey through life, and there may be nothing new in general terms, but I thought I'd share it anyway. Our journey through life is a journey from here to there along a roadway which has many different aspects. At times, it is like a jungle, overgrown with thorns and tree roots waiting to trip the unwary. The going is tough here, we can only make slow progress and have to stop frequently to rest. We also need to take frequent soundings from the sun to make sure that we are heading in the right direction: the pathway is so hard to see that it is easy to get lost and walk round in circles. The pathway way start to become easier as we walk into a clearing. We can now see the direction the path is going as it stretches our before us and we know where we are heading. This is the time to enjoy the trip. To look around and really see what is going around us. These are the parts of the journey that the goddess has given to us so that we do not need to always been in disappear or a state of confusion. A time to stride out and be ourselves. Then we come to the highway/freeway/motorway or whatever you like to call it. There is a great deal of fast moving traffic along the freeway. If we are lucky, we may get offered a lift as some new piece of information, teacher or life event comes our way. But we must remember that there will come a time soon when we must say "stop the car, it's time for me to get out of the car and start walking again". If we don't then we will be forever going where that other person wants us to go. We also need to take great care on the freeway because there is so much hustle and bustle going around us. We must make sure we do not stumble here as here is a real danger we could be injured if we fall under the wheels of the fast moving traffic. And on each of the pathways we travel, we come across crossroads. There are the times we need to make a decision about which way to go. No matter what the issue the crossroads represents, there is always the easy way out: to stand still and do nothing, to stand in bewilderment and worry about which path to go down. In standing still, we need to come to the realisation that we are not moving forward and cannot stay where we are forever. Then there is the easy path, the path of least resistance. As such it is also the one where we can see furthest ahead. But it is the path of no growth. Then there is the path of the unknown, the path of greatest risk. Do we dare go down that path. We do not know what lies ahead, but it seems dangerous and dark. Do we live by our fears and turn our backs on this path? Or do we step out with glad heart because we know this to be the true way, the way of the Self. And how often have we stepped out along this path with fear and trepidation in our hearts only to discover it's not that bad after all. And how often do step out only to find our darkest fears have become reality and we are back in that dark jungle, full of thorns and beasts? But one thing we should realise, even in our darkest hour, is that we will come through this one way or another. That the clearing lies just ahead. And when we get there we can count our blessings at what we have learnt. To end, I'll quote something from a song "There's always time to change the road you're on" | 
