Word 027
The path up Yoshino-yama is not a single road.
From Shimo-senbon to Naka-senbon to Kami-senbon, the trails wind their way up through the mountain, and people climb them each at their own pace. No one leads you by the hand. No one walks it for you. One step at a time — your feet, your pace, your choice.
And when you stop and look back, a thought quietly arrives.
"I made this path myself."
Did someone else lay the tracks you've been walking?
No.
It was you — after all — who chose this path.
There was no road before you.
Where you have walked, your own road was made. (ref. Kōtarō Takamura)
Your life is your responsibility.
You cannot lay the blame on someone else, or something else. That, in itself, is proof that you were the one who chose.