Walking the Path of Life

When you look at what we have been given, it is so beautiful and so simple. We’ve been given a life—no books, no baggage, nothing. There is a saying that as we come into this world, that’s how we leave: with nothing. Everything else that burdens us, we have picked up along the way and put it in our bag of tricks. We think these things are important. I’m not here to debate whether they are or not, because it would be an endless debate.

I have an analogy. Life is a path. It has a distinct start and a distinct end. As you walk this path, you plant seeds. There is no rule for what seeds to plant where, but you plant seeds. And as you keep walking and planting more seeds, all of a sudden, the fruits of the seeds that you planted earlier will begin to appear before you.

So the question becomes: what kind of seeds have you been planting? A lot of people say, “I haven’t planted any seeds.” That’s not true. Every step you walk on this path of life, you plant a seed. You have no choice. If you have been planting seeds of compassion, love, kindness, gratitude, understanding, contentment, serenity, clarity, you will have a nice feast.

If you say, “I haven’t been planting any seeds,” that is the first seed of unconsciousness. And if you have been planting seeds of unconsciousness, anger, hate, confusion, doubt, questions, then you will have really bad food in this life. That is my experience of how it is.

Can anybody else eat from the seed of kindness that I plant? No. Only I will eat from it. Others plant their own. And those seeds that are planted from the feeling of the heart are incredibly delicious.

Walk this life taking every step deliberately. The opportunity we have is to fulfill ourselves, to experience joy, to experience peace every day. The real peace. The peace that nobody can take away from you, that cannot be cut, stolen, or diminished. That is the real peace.

There is an infinite treasure within you. The story of life begins and ends with you. This is your story, your path. Nobody else can come down this path of life you are walking on—you are the lone traveler on it. This life is a gift for you and you alone. You cannot give this breath, this time you have, to anybody else. No one is allowed to do so.

The one you truly are in love with is within inside of you, and by its very nature cannot leave you until the end of your life. By its very nature, the breath that is coming to you every moment is inseparable from you. Fall in love with it because it is beautiful. The reality of being conscious, of being alive, is simple. Peace is there. Truth is there. It has always been there inside of you. Pay attention to your life. It’s the only one you’ve got.