There are paths. Almost a year ago I suggested that a balance of Form, Function, Discipline and Indulgence would lead us toward and sometimes away from Beauty, Truth, Wisdom, Justice. But this served as more explanation than direction, more of a guidebook than a map. So how do I get there? Where do I start? Where do I find the trailhead? And when I come to a fork, which one should I take?

I am reminded of the Robert Frost poem “The Road Not Taken” in which apparently, instead of the popular interpretation recommending individualism and taking the “one less traveled by” – he is suggesting that on a future day we will pretentiously claim this more noble path, wanting to believe we had control all along. If I were to choose in this moment, because it feels like we are currently so far away from Beauty, Truth, Wisdom, Justice, I would say we might be better served by the uncertainty of a road less traveled. But I cannot automatically or even instinctively discount Frost's observation that we are inclined to create myths to match our worldview after the fact; we are inclined to turn uncertainty into certainty thus further encouraging myth.

And as also pointed out by Robert Frost, I can only see so far ahead whether at a fork or on the straight and narrow. Like it or not and regardless of my stories in later life, when choosing any path, there is a large amount of the unknown ahead. This factor also encourages me to acknowledge the relative, seeming sameness of one path compared to another. And perhaps as further explanation, in one's youth, more often than not, a somewhat broader path is set before us from which any divergence available will not stray far from the primary or consensus path. Perhaps the actual road to Beauty, Truth, Wisdom, Justice lies elsewhere unpaved, and to be built requires a trek through and to a never-before-traveled untamed wild. So perhaps I have come this far to agree with Robert Frost: the choice, though consequential, perhaps even substantial, as a divergence from the main path, will make little difference in the History of Humanity. To truly seek Beauty, Truth, Wisdom, Justice will require a much larger, much greater divergence. So where do I start?

Where do I find the trailhead?

It feels like I must begin in my youth. Which at the age of 63, will be difficult. As long as there continues this flow of 8 billion plus filling the heart muscle, arteries, veins, and capillaries of our present-day worldview substantiated and justified by similar yet divisive myths, it is very difficult, (perhaps impossible) for anyone to work back against this streaming onslaught. We must somehow find a way while still in our youth to branch off, to diverge, absconding with enough of the power of this heart muscle to begin anew actually building toward Beauty, Truth, Wisdom, Justice.

How? What is the tonic for a system that funnels us toward disorder, insignificance, fear and cruelty? What can serve as a catalyst for redefining Peace, Purpose, Reason and Passion to align with Beauty, Truth, Wisdom and Justice instead of its current alignment with bureaucracy, convention, certainty and division? Education? Education feels like an uphill battle with established, traditional power and process. A new system? Of course, but as previously implied we don't have the numbers or enough heart to pull that off. The beginning stages of an apocalypse? Isn't that where we find ourselves today? And with little ongoing improvement? I don't know…

If Beauty, Truth, Wisdom, Justice were four walled and gated cities constantly receding at varying speeds and distances, (which in a sense they are because they are Ideals), it makes sense that one would opt for alternative routes to destinations more reachable, open and welcoming. For example our worldview today creates disorder, so though one may begin in Attraction and even stop over in Peace seeking Beauty in Form, it is difficult to bypass the chaos and disorder of all the surrounding construction when asked to lend a hand and knowing our desired destination is a journey that will not end in this Lifetime; consequently we are funneled to the nearby metropolis, Bureaucracy. And because our worldview today creates insignificance, though one may begin their journey in Accomplishment and even stop over in Purpose seeking Truth in Function, it is difficult to exit the main thoroughfare onto a seemingly smaller, less significant path also knowing our desired destination is a journey that will not end in this Lifetime; consequently we are funneled to the nearby metropolis, Convention. And because our worldview today creates fear, though one may begin their journey in Success and even stop over in Reason seeking Wisdom in Discipline, it is difficult (and perhaps dangerous) to slow down to consider the uncertainty of cross-country detours especially knowing our desired destination is a journey that will not end in this Lifetime; consequently we are funneled to the nearby metropolis, Certainty. And because our worldview today creates cruelty, though one may begin their journey in Intimacy and even stop over in Passion seeking Justice in Indulgence, as one individual it is difficult to imagine stopping to help every breakdown alongside the road or stopping to inject our worldview into every poor and/or dying village along the way thus contributing one's harshness more as wanton disregard than overt cruelty but with the same result; consequently we are funneled to the nearby metropolis, Division. Yes, unfortunately, in our worldview today we are rewarded for finding answers and making our homes in Bureaucracy, Convention, Certainty and Division rather than to live the required nomadic life for a chance to perhaps glimpse beyond the walls and through the gates of Beauty, Truth, Wisdom, Justice, and for a chance to perhaps save the World, or at the least Humanity.

Perhaps studying these paths and the ways we are misguided is a beginning to education; and though education feels necessary, as previously stated, I don't see it as expedient. I believe today, we need expedient, so I am back to “I don't know” – which will not deter my effort to find a better answer.