Perhaps the most joyful of all religious experiences is to feel like a bloodhound in finding a path in one’s life that contains religious meaning. Different hound dogs are bred to seek different scents, and thus follow different trails. To feel like a bloodhound is to feel the joy and excitement- - of knowing that we have picked up on that scent that we have been specially “bred” to follow not knowing exactly where our trail will lead us, but knowing that something “delicious” awaits us at our destination.
Note that even poodles have a sense of smell, however, when a poodle picks up on a scent it is likely to be nothing more than a journey to the kitchen food bowl just before an early afternoon nap. Yes, even a poodle can exhibit great degrees of excitement and motivation just before an adventure, but it is highly unlikely that the poodle’s tracking will ever lead to anything grand or glorious. It is important to distinguish the adventures and experience of the poodle from that of the bloodhound; it is not those experiences of the poodle which I speak of, but those of the bloodhound.
Again, the specific trail that a hound dog follows matters not as long as it contains the scent for which it was bred, for a breeder of hounds will never breed for a scent that is not worth tracking. Likewise, the specific trail that each of us travels in life matters not as long as it is that path that we have been individually destined, through the will of our Creator, to pursue; for all paths of love and righteousness will lead to the same glorious destination!
A word to the wise is never trick yourself into feeling envious of the life path others have been chosen to follow, for no life path can bring more happiness in its end except the life path for which each person has been chosen. Nor hope that your path is filled with pride, glamour or prestige, for these primitive earthly delights interfere with our experiencing higher-ordered heavenly delights such as true love and wisdom; paths leading to “earthly success” can easily lead us away from God=s love. Also, beware of evil do-gooders who play god by compelling you along a specific path, for the correct path can only be known through our own inner experience. Finally, do not despair if you cannot discern which path you were meant to follow, for chances are you have always been on it, but have simply never been made aware of its religious meaning. Just as the real bloodhound needs to sniff around before it becomes aware of the “hot scent,” so too, do we. Again, very often we are not aware of the ways in which we our doing God’s will; that part of our life that seems to lack earthly meaning often contains great religious meaning!
Remember, it is our destination in life that is paramount; the means by which we arrive there, and the time it takes, is trivial in comparison. To think of life as a race, or any other type of contest, is to lose our way at the very starting point of our journey!
