Throughout my life, I’ve had a tendency to wander progressively—a continual search for direction, fulfillment, and understanding. Sometimes my search was in the form of travel, whether on the road or on the water. Other times by reading, writing, teaching, or via photography. The many ways continue into the later stages of my life.
When I think of “way,” I consider method, or how something is accomplished. Often the end result can be achieved using various ways instead of one “set” way.
Another way may be in the mode of travel. Whether by foot, bicycle, car, motorcycle, boat, or plane, each way gets us to a place, even if it is not the intended destination. Often we are simply a passenger. Other times we are the driver, skipper, or pilot. Each mode encourages a different experience along the way.
And literally, we have a way as represented by a map route—a roadway, a path, a course. How do we get there? Which way do we go? The scenic? The fastest? The safest? Do we continually travel the same path? Do we change routes? Do we set out with no destination—simply to explore. And as a result, do we discover?
We have ways of thinking and behaving—open and closed, progressive and conservative, adventurous and timid, moral and immoral, etc. Most of us recognize there is no set way to move on and make a life, although there are social guidelines and boundaries (laws, rules, conventions, religious and cultural teachings) that encourage us to live without taking advantage of another’s well-being. There are endless approaches, each one yielding similar or dissimilar results. Some are achieved by remaining within conventional boundaries, others by straying outside, and some by redefining boundaries.
Every personal action, in some manner, reflects "one’s way."