A different path

by Anton Zuiker on September 6, 2026

Three books I’ve finished recently have caught me in a reflective mood, at an important pivot point in my life.

Craig Mod wrote Things Become Other Things: A Walking Memoir about walking the ancient pilgrimage paths of Japan’s southern Kii Peninsula and how that helped him understand a childhood friendship. Back in June, I took an impromptu mid-week road trip to Asheville to hear Craig read from the book. Back home, I slowly read my copy on the porch with my morning coffee, savoring Craig’s introspection and observation.

I also restarted my membership in Craig’s Special Projects and have been reading (and occasionally contributing to) the inspiring conversations in the members-only discussion board, where every day there are examples of individuals around the world sharing the creative paths they are on, such as Luis Mendo and Swati Singh.

Here’s Paul Millerd, author of The Pathless Path explaining what he’s learned by walking his own way:

Through reflection, I was able to see that there was a larger ‘conversation’ I was meant to have with the world.

His is a memoir, too, and a way for him to share the lessons he learned and satisfaction he found by getting off the default corporate, full-time-job career path. (I paid for the premium hardcover version of the book, and it was worth every dollar. Also, he quotes as many women as men.) He encourages his readers to figure out what you have to offer, pause and disconnect, and go make something, he encourages his readers. All timely suggestions that hit on what I’ve been doing over the last few years or planning to do in the year ahead.

David O’Hara, a philosophy and classics professor who I follow on Micro.blog, co-wrote a book about trout fishing. In Downstream: Reflections on Brook Trout, Fly Fishing, and the Waters of Appalachia, O’Hara and Matthew Dickerson describe the many times they have waded into a river to cast hand-made flies of one type or another, and the feeling of awe and wonder that comes from the dance with the fish.

What especially caught my attention was when O’Hara writes, “I also am in the habit of walking long distances in streams. If I can get in the stream at a public access, I’m willing to stay in the stream for miles in order to get to the good fishing, and to defend my right to stay in the stream to anyone who challenges me.”

I’ve only walked in a stream like that once, and not with a fishing pole—my summer job in college was on a rich man’s farm, and one day we had to walk more than a mile of the stream to clear it of decades of debris. Still, David’s quote prompted me to remember the career/life strategy I have espoused:

I see my life as a river crossing, with my career/life goal set on the far riverbank, and many stepping stones in the river. At times I step to a stone that puts me closer to the riverbank; other steps are lateral. This philosophy combines two lessons my parents taught me – to have a goal, and to make the most of any situation.

David got me thinking again about my personal philosophy. Was my crossing-a-river focus the same as Millerd’s default path? Have I been stuck in this perspective in which I have to get to the other side of the river? Not really, but also, maybe a bit. As it happens, I’ve reached an important career milestone in my river: the Rule of 75 means that now I am eligible for health and child tuition benefits in my retirement. As you might surmise, that’s a big rock on which to pause, look around, and decide where I might go next, including in new directions, further, farther.

It’s ok to wander

The word embarrassment came up this week, in Pathless Path and Ted Lasso (indeed, the episode, S4E5, was titled Riches of Embarrassment).

Paul: “Even if you do decide that sharing your real work with the world is worthwhile, it’s nearly impossible to overcome the sense that you may embarrass yourself. Here it’s helpful to remember the ‘spirit of the fool’ and also consider that many people around the world might be waiting for what you have to share..”

Ted: “Embarrassment. An emotion so useless it should be embarrassed of itself. And yeah, it can trap any of us, keep us small, scared, until we bust out of it.”

An even more powerful statement from that same episode was when glove-less goalie Boots tells Keeley, “Those voices in your head, tell them to shut the fuck up, all right?” Also, that little girl who gets to scream into the microphone, “Where the fuck are you?” Show up is the half-time message, though that could very well be the best life career/philosophy ever.

Meanwhile, the word aimless came up in two conversations, both in reference to individuals or organizations that seemed to have lost their way. Perhaps they are, but tonight I for one am feeling inspired to wander.

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