I know the Path Forward is one of the more complicated parts of Brigid’s Path to explain. Really, it comes at the point where you’re ready to move forward on your own.
And how do I explain what that looks like, when it’s so bloody individual?
But here’s where the value of the Collective comes into its own…
Brigid’s Path: the path forward
So, here’s the thing. At this point in the journey, you’ve done the internal work. Gotten to know yourself. Reconciled the past. Found your joy. Determined your knowledge.
Basically, you have a really strong foundation built for yourself. But on Brigid’s Path, the path forward is yours alone. You take the decisions and decide what way you’re walking. (Or y’know, rolling, crawling, hobbling, etc…) And it can be overwhelming. Or… enough to have you stopping walking the path altogether and scuttle back to – well not safety exactly, but the familiar.
I know – I’ve been round this particular block a few times. Several… hundred… or so. Brigid has been extremely patient with me.
And at times, she’s smacked me up the head with some information she feels I’ve not been paying attention to. She’s usually right.
So determining what your path forward looks like is really up to you. There is a lot of meditation and visualisation work in this session(s). We workshop what your path forward looks like – for now anyway. Things change – and we’ll deal with that in the final step.
But for now – we’re looking at the things you’ve identified on your path with Brigid so far, and looking at the path forward for you.
Unique?
Yes. I firmly believe that while many of our paths might overlap, we each walk our own path. There’s no point in walking someone else’s path. Their path will be fully appropriate for them. It might almost fit you, but you want something tailored exactly for you.
Not something that almost fits.
I’ve said this over and over and over again, even in this short post. I know.
But it’s worth repeating, again and again and again.
This isn’t about finding someone else’s path. This is about your path. What works for you, your life, your desires, your responsibilities.
If my path worked for you – sure, you could copy it. But I’ll admit, very readily, my path won’t work for everyone. In fact, my path won’t work for most. I’m odd and strange in many ways and the way I walk Brigid’s Path is no different. Your path forward might overlap with mine. You might for example have a keen interest in diversity and inclusion, as I do. But you might have a focus on race or ability rather than my focus of gender diversity in engineering.
And that’s great. We need more people working in all these areas, as this enriches Brigid’s Path for everyone and our collective road forward.
Why the focus on the individual?
Because that’s where our “traditional” or “organised” religions are failing us. They come up with a list of rules and conditions and structures that work for those people creating them. And they forget that these might not work for everyone. In fact, there an extremely strong possibility they won’t work for everyone. The whole point of stepping outside these strictures is to construct your own path.
So, the individual is what’s important here. That doesn’t mean you can’t use some of the traditional structures you grew up with, if they are supportive and helpful. A few “Hail Marys” is a great way for me to calm my body and focus my mind, to be honest. But that’s not for everyone. And I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone.
Brigid’s Path is based on the individual. It means more work. More effort on your part. There are very few, if any, shortcuts. Sometimes, you find yourself going back to first principles, over and over and over again. It gets discouraging., at times. So, yes, there is 100% focus on the individual, but by taking part in the Collective you can gain the support and cheerleading of your group.
And oh man, does that come in useful!!
I know this is fairly vague – no more than Brigid’s Path itself!
And that’s partly because of the individual experience here. There are a number of meditations and visualisations to get through. There a lot of discussions around what will and won’t work for you. Whereas with the first four steps, there is a fair bit of overlap in the activities being done, with the last two – it’s extremely individual.
And that’s ok.
The important thing is to remember this is your path to walk!
