The trouble is not that life is short, but that we waste so much of it following someone else’s directions while searching for our happiness. Rarely do we sit with our thoughts and truly ask ourselves, “what would be the next best course of action for me to take that will put me on a path to create a better life?” Instead, we find a guru, we google, or youtube, or ask our friends how they did it, or follow any number of narratives put in place by society that are deemed acceptable ways to live your life and find your happiness. But that’s the problem. Your path shouldn’t be defined FOR you, it should be define BY you. Sitting on the shoulders of giants is different than mirroring the footsteps of those that came before you. 

Matsuo Basho, a famous poet from the Edo period in Japan, said; “Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise; seek what they sought.” Too often we become blinded by the narrative espoused by the “wise” to realize that the path they’re walking isn’t always in alignment with the direction we need to take in life. Even though we may be searching for the same thing, it is important to understand that there are many roads that can lead to the same place.