The Difference Between a Road and a Path
Navigating Life and Running
Question
In life and running, would you rather move forward on a road or on a path?
I got the inspiration to distinguish between the two from Brad Stulberg's book "Master of Change" and find it quite interesting. But what's the difference between a road and a path?
In the words of Brad Stulberg
“A road is linear and aims to get you from here to there with as much haste and as little effort as possible. A road resists the landscape; instead of working with its environment, it plows over whatever is in its way. When you are traveling on a road, you know your destination. If you get knocked off, it is an unambiguously bad thing; you get back on and assume smooth travel again. Interesting opportunities may be calling you from the sides, but when you are on a road, the goal is to stay on the road, to get where you are going as fast as you can.
A path, on the other hand, is quite different. It works in harmony with its surroundings. When you are traveling on a path you may have a general sense of where you are going, but you are open to navigating, perhaps even making use of, whatever detours arise. A path is not separate from its environment but rather part of it. If you get knocked off a road, it can be traumatizing and disorienting. But there is no getting knocked off a path, since it is always unfolding and revealing itself to you.
A road resists time and the elements, building up tension until eventually it cracks and crumbles. A path embraces change and is constantly rerouting itself accordingly. Though at first, a road may seem stronger, a path is far more robust, durable, and persistent.”
This immediately conjures up the association of "trail running" vs. "road running," but I think there's more to it than that.
Can I let go? Can I give up a part of myself and immerse myself in something new and unpredictable?
Or do I want to move within fixed structures? To get from A to B quickly and purposefully, without wasting time or energy. Do I let myself drift or do I take the initiative?
And what do I experience on my journey? How do I perceive my environment? Is there something for me to discover, or has the route already manifested itself and has no meaning for me?
Of course, I have to think of the two hearts that beat in my chest, the Levelhead and the Punk. The Levelhead is definitely drawn to the road, while the Punk prefers the winding paths.
Philosophically, I would say that the road and the path symbolize different, almost divergent approaches to existence. The road embodies humanity's quest for control, order, and efficiency, while the path celebrates the beauty of spontaneity, exploration, and connection to the natural world.
As you navigate the complex terrain of life, you may find yourself torn between the lure of the predictability of the road and the allure of the untamed wilderness of the path. Yet, the good life lies in embracing the inherent duality of these metaphors. At least for me.
Everything Not Running
Last night I had the great pleasure of speaking with Juliane from Alles-Laufbar.de. For their Trailfunk podcast, they interview their authors and ask them about the articles they have written for Alles-Laufbar.de. In my case, these are the following:
Sorry, all in German language.
The conversation was very casual and relaxed. We also know each other personally and went straight to pizza and chocolate-covered dates after the interview. But what struck me was how well prepared Juliane was for the interview.
Nowadays, it takes just one click to publish any content on the Internet, and many people who do this, even in a professional context, unfortunately don't put much effort into it. The end user's consumption adapts to the content, and so we are increasingly used to ingesting small bites of exciting but often useless information and forgetting most of it right away.
Yesterday's interview with Alles-Laufbar.de was exactly the opposite. We delved deep into one topic – trail running & identity – and looked at it from many different angles. This created a large space in which our thoughts and words could gain substance.
I hope that listeners will feel the same way. Enjoy the Trailfunk Podcast episode and the quality journalism of Alles-Laufbar.de in general.
Sometimes it needs first a road to come to a path, or how do you come to your trail runnings?
I sometimes explore some new path on my runs in the wood- sometimes try and sometimes very wet! :-)- but at first I have to run on the road to get in the wood with the path.