The Road Less Traveled

While there is nothing wrong with the road that most people travel in their careers, it is not a road that suits me.  I'm not sure it ever has.  Now that I am attempting to exit permanently the well-traveled road, I find myself confronted with a variety of challenges.  Many of my friends and family struggle with understanding my need to "derail my career" to accommodate my hobbies.  While I argue that what I am doing is correcting the situation and pursuing what should be my career while letting go of stop-gap jobs, I wanted to double-check with the Runes and make sure I am supposed to get on the road less traveled.  The Runes had some very interesting guidance for me.

Gebo, the Rune of gifts and appreciation, also conjures up the term 'partnership' in new age interpretations.  Traditionally, the gift relates to the idea of giving without expecting anything in return, generosity being its own reward.  In this regard, Gebo gives a good overview of the situation, because it reminds me that it is important to be generous.  If new age meanings affixed to this Rune are true, I must examine what 'partnership' means, for I do not believe it has a traditional meaning in this instance - one with another person.  For me, the partnership is with my craft - writing.  When you have the correct partner, everything flows as it should and happiness grows; that is the gift you receive, but it enables you to give your gift freely too.  I offer my writing for others to enjoy in many ways and, by writing, I feel happy and complete.

Therefore, I can understand why Wunjo, the Rune of Joy, is the challenge in this situation.  Doing what makes you happy and brings you joy, is challenging enough without being surrounded by "nay-sayers".  In fact, I wouldn't necessarily call them "nay-sayers", rather simply people who don't view the world from a perspective similar to mine, people who follow the straight and narrow.  When people don't understand what you want to do or when they can't see how you intend to get from point A to point B, they become critical.  That is why Wunjo is the challenge, because being happy in this circumstance is really not very easy.  What is easy is to feel defeated, to make any barriers bigger than they need to be, to make barriers at all.  The challenge is to be happy and know that, if the path works for you, you can't worry about what others think.  Have faith that you know which path is best for you in the long run.

I simply love Berkana, the Rune of beauty, birth and beginnings.  What more do I need to say?  The meanings say it all.  What is more beautiful than being able to follow your chosen path successfully?  What feels better than the first step on that path, than initiating/beginning your chosen future?  The action required here is to realize that the road less traveled or, more specifically, crossing over to it, offers just what I believe it will.  It puts me on the path to the future I want, the future that I see as providing happiness, security and feeds the things I have always wanted to pursue.  I have to be confident in my choice to step fully, squarely onto the less-traveled road and walk proudly and happily forward.