Pop Culture Tao - So Many Paths

If you should stumble and fall down,
people don't know what to do.
Pretend that they didn't notice,
they'll sidestep and walk around you.
Don't let it be your worry.
No, no don't let it get you concerned.
You've got to move on in your own direction,
forget what you ever learned.

There are so many paths up the mountain.
Nobody knows all the ways.
There are so many paths up the mountain,
and the view from the top is still the same.

~ from So Many Paths by Glenn Shorrock & I. Jones, performed by the Little River Band ~

In a world beset by the push toward conformity, this song (written by LRB's lead singer) sounds more like it could have been written by the ancient Taoist sages! Compare it to some of the words of Lao Tzu.

Give up learning, and put an end to your troubles.
Is there a difference between yes and no?
Is there a difference between good and evil?
Must I fear what others fear? What nonsense!
(Verse 20)

In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired.
In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped.
(Verse 48)

There are billions of people in the world, past and present. It stands to reason that there are billions of paths up the mountain. When people try to force us to accept external paths, we end up accepting THEIR manifestations for our own.

If the process of life had devised a methodology of one singular path, then why do we have the ten thousand things? Wouldn't it have made more sense simply to develop one manifestation and designate one path for it to follow?

Follow your heart. It will show you YOUR right path.

To see what other aspects of "pop culture" I've written about, go here.