A Perspective on Life's Path

Purposeful Wanderings - Bradford L. Glass - February 2026

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“We make our world significant by the courage of our questions and by the depth of our answers.” – Carl Sagan

As I contemplate the path to living authentically – which I do often – I enjoy creating perspectives that bring the journey to life … either with in-your-face summaries or with strong visuals. (We all learn differently.) Here’s one of the former. Next month, one of the latter. If you’ve followed the 5-part series of the past months and adopted exercises along the way – i.e., you’ve become the path – this could serve as a “companion for the journey” moving forward. If you’ve read the issues but not gained “personal experience of becoming,” you may find this viewpoint interesting, but change comes from the felt experience of the ideas, not from intellectual knowing. I see the path as two “phases,” one on finding your truth, the other on bringing your truth to the world.  Have fun … but do it!

Show Up … Shut Up … Sit Still … Listen … 10-15 min. a day, forever

Phase I: Despite our [learned, dysfunctional] discomfort with silence, silence focuses awareness on this present moment, and on your inner world. Gradually, you come to identify yourself with the silence inside you, not the noise around you. You learn to see “what is” with acceptance, not judgment. You hear your adopted voices (echoes of old lessons) for the illusion they are, and see how they inhibit you. By learning to observe your thoughts, not just become them, you gain clarity on how & why your life today is a result of thoughts you didn’t even know you were having … so you can … find the thoughts … that created the story … that triggered the reaction … that you believe was valid … so you can then honor your authentic truth instead. Move to Phase II only with comfort here.

DO:   Be curious … about what’s going on in your head

              Replay … events, situations, conversations from the day/week/life

                  Listen … to what your mind was telling you … then

                      Learn … how & why you responded as you did … then

DON’T:   Judge/Fix/change … it’s about learning, not blaming, right/wrong, fixing or changing

Envision it … Step into it … Notice it … every day, forever

Phase II:  Start after comfort with Phase I. The “seed” of authentic you “wants to express itself through how you live.” With growing self-awareness, it’s time to nurture that seed into being. You do this not by force but by being drawn into it. Create a powerful vision in your mind of a future that expresses your truth. Replay often. Fall in love with your vision. Then, take one step into it each day – as an experiment, not as a plan or goal. Just notice what happens as you step. Listen; learn; repeat. A vision creates energy … and a “memory of the future” … so as you walk the path each day, you feel pulled … as if you were already home. Everyday practice sustains you … for a lifetime.

DO:   imagine … living your authentic truth … every day

             listen … to what your imagining tells you … about you

                 replay … your vision regularly …  to build energy

                     step … try something out … as an experiment, each day

                         Learn … what possibility your life holds

DON’T:   Plan/promise/try … your steps are an experiment … so you learn, not force/try/judge

Exercise: This month’s article offers a rather “in your face” view to stress the importance of everyday, personal practice. In fact, significant change rarely comes from anything else. Daily personal quiet time for the purpose of self-reflection is critical in two ways: 1) While you’re reflecting quietly, you’re in your conscious mind ... so you’re in the present moment. You see what’s true now, not what may be made up in your head (about the past) or what should be (in the future). 2) It allows you to get to know – onpurpose, with purpose – what’s going on in your mind, right now. No other path I know of can “interrupt” the unconscious reaction we believe is thinking (but isn’t) … so you can consciously change it. 

This is the part most miss. Most think that if they read stuff and understand stuff and know more, then things will change for them. They won’t, because the unconscious mind is still in charge, ferrying perhaps decades of life’s nonsense into your “thinking,” which becomes behavior, which creates results. THIS is why your life is something other than what you may dream about!! No amount of “knowing more” will change that; only self-awareness will. And if you need “convincing” of that, try this. If “knowing more” alone could change you, then you could make it to the Olympic Ski Team by reading books about how to ski.  NO … you actually have to come down the mountain (maybe a few times … practice!)

So … with that … consider adopting a personal practice of quiet reflection … 10 - 15 min. every day, forever, during which you simply listen to the “voices in your head,” not to follow them down a dead-end street (unconsciously), but to understand how they’ve been messing with your life, perhaps for decades (consciously). You may just be surprised, both with what you find and what changes happen for you … naturally and easily, without force.

Life Lessons from Nature: Eight big ideas guide nature’s way.  Collectively, they’ve not only created the majesty we experience when we’re in nature, but have sustained life on earth for some 14 billion years. Collectively, they also offer us a path, a framework for how we might sustain our own well-being. I’m going to highlight two each month for the next four months.

Creativity: The universe is sustained by the energy of creative expression, each element “becoming” its innate essence. The creative process is the wellspring from which possibility unfolds, energy that drives meaning.  What if you could design your entire life around that deep personal truth to which you are continually drawn?

Opportunism: Amidst continual change, life seizes the uncertainty in each moment, then propagates itself in all directions. So … we create life’s path by walking it, not by having it laid out ahead. Our most powerful tools are …  patience, to wait for openings; awareness, to notice when they occur; acceptance, that life will unfold so as to serve us; and trust, in our own innate essence. What if you viewed uncertainty as an opportunity for creative genius, not a threat to your safety?

Book of the month: Instead of reading something this month, write something. Each day, note what you learn about yourself as you reflect on your unconscious thoughts, and how they’ve been “defining” your life for you, with neither your awareness nor consent. See if you can discover just where these thoughts may have come from (clue: it’s old lessons from the past … and you can find them). No need to judge them or try to change them. Just noticing your thoughts for what they are – thoughts – does the work for you. Appreciate the objective awareness.

Openings to New Possibility -- at The Road Not Taken: If you’re ready to write a new chapter in your life story (or maybe even a new story), I’m here to help. Together we’ll chart a course into the territory of your greatest potential. An introductory conversation might just change your life. More on my website www.roadnottaken.com … ideas, articles, newsletters, my books for sale … as well as an invitation to personalized life coaching.