A path is not something someone makes for you
“There are no paths in this world. Paths are made by those who walk them.”
These are the famous words from Lu Xun's 'My Old Home'.
When I first read them, I thought,
“I see.”
……and that was about it.
But as I have grown older, I have come to understand the weight of these words little by little.
When I was a child, I thought paths existed from the very beginning.
The path to school.
The path to work.
The rails of life.
“If you follow this path, you will be fine.”
I used to think that such a path existed somewhere.
However, when you become an adult, you realize.
It doesn't exist.
It really doesn't exist.
Changing jobs is like that too.
Divorce is like that too.
Life in a new land is like that too.
Google Maps will guide you to your destination.
But life,
"Turn right in 500 meters."
They don't teach you that.
If possible, I would like a navigator for life too.
"Three months from now, you will have successfully changed jobs."
"This choice is the right one."
"Please confess your feelings to her here."
How much easier would it be if there were voice guidance like that?
……Perhaps I would
"Recalculating."
end up hearing that every day.
Even so, standing still won't create a path.
Take a step forward.
Fail.
Walk again.
Those footprints gradually increase.
Then, only when you look back,
"Ah, this was the path I walked."
you realize.
I have worked in design.
You always draw lines on a blueprint.
That single line becomes the shape of a product.
Life is a bit similar.
The lines are not drawn from the beginning.
You have no choice but to draw them one by one yourself.
That is why I like this saying.
"There are no paths in this world. Paths are made when many people walk them."
A life spent walking behind someone else is not bad.
But because there are people who took a step into a place where no one had walked before, we are able to walk those paths today.
If there is someone right now who feels like there is no path in front of them,
it does not mean you are lost.
You might just be the very first one.