Does this path have a heart?

Seven years ago, this short piece of text helped me gain perspective on my life choices — and gave me the motivation to act on them immediately.

During my week-long initiation in Costa Rica, I was given several key practices to deepen my self-awareness. It began simply: learning how to observe nature. Slowly, I became more able to notice what was happening in my inner world as well.

Where in your life have you compromised your heart?

I began to see how much of what I was feeling came from going against my heart over the years. Little by little, I had given up my boundaries. I pleased people to make them happy, avoided confrontation, and stayed in a comfortable life that no longer felt true. I withdrew instead of standing strong for those who looked up to me. I stayed in a relationship I no longer believed in. I remained on team calls that drained my energy.

One evening, my guide helped me explore what in my life truly fed my heart and what did not — in other words, what gave me energy and joy, and what took it away. He presented me with a text from Carlos Castaneda’s 1968 book The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge.

The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge. 

In the text, the spiritual guide Don Juan Matus explains that while there are countless paths one can take in life, the only one worth following is the one that possesses a "heart."

"Every path is but one of many. You must never forget that a path is just a path. If you feel that you should not follow one, you must not stay on it under any circumstances. And to have a clear head and to be able to recognize this, you must live a disciplined life. 

Only then will you understand that a path is just a path and that there is no wrongdoing to you or to others if you leave it, if your heart so commands. But when you decide whether to follow the path or leave it, you must not be influenced by fear or ambition. I warn you. 

Examine each path carefully and consciously. Try it as many times as you think fit. And then ask yourself, and only yourself, one question. It is a question that only very old people ask. 

My benefactor told me about it when I was too young and my blood was too passionate to understand it. Now I have I understand. And I will tell you. ‘Does this road have a heart?’ 

All roads are the same, they lead nowhere. There are roads that lead through the bushes or into the bushes. In my life I have walked long, long roads, but I have not gotten anywhere. I now understand my benefactor’s question. 

Does this road have a heart? If it has, it is a good road. If it does not, it is useless. Neither of them leads anywhere. But one of them has a heart and the other does not. The first road is a joyous one. As long as you follow it, you are one with it. The second road will make you curse your life. The first road strengthens you, the second road weakens you.”

“I tell you that it is nonsense to waste your life on just one road, especially if it has no heart.”

“But how do you know that a road has no heart, Don Juan?”

“Before you set out on any path, you must ask yourself: Does this path have a heart? If the answer is no, then you know you must choose another path.”

“But how do I know for sure whether a path has a heart or not?”

“Everyone knows. The problem is that no one asks. And when a person finally realizes that he is walking on a path without a heart, the path is ready to kill him. At that moment, very few people are able to freely decide to leave the path.”

“And how do I ask the question correctly, Don Juan?”

“Just ask it.”

“I wonder if there is a method to find out if I am not lying to myself and telling myself that the answer is yes when in fact it is no.”

“Why would you lie to yourself?”

“Because at that moment the path suits me, it is pleasant for me, and I feel good on it.”

"That's nonsense. No one can feel good on a path without a heart. You even have to work hard to get there. On the contrary, a path with a heart is easy, you easily grow to like it."

For me personally, reading the words from Carlos Castaneda’s Don Juan cut deeply. I heard loud and clear what I already knew: that I was stuck in a relationship that was not healthy. Deep down, I had already made the decision — now I had to find the courage to end it.

In another image that appeared to me, I saw myself simply performing in my job. I could see there was no heart, no joy, no passion — and that I was not giving what I truly could.

Many things happened during my initiation week, and massive changes followed immediately after — and have continued ever since. And still, the question “Does this path have a heart?” has stayed with me as a litmus test whenever I need to make a decision: whether to embark on a new journey, or stay on the path I have already begun to walk.

Thank you, Adam.