A Whole Lot of Talk:
Those who speak of a higher path often talk on the nature of the selfless spirit. This concept is one in which the person taking on this higher path seeks to change the world through acts of kindness and goodness also known as acts of selflessness or selfless interest. The nature of such action while noble to some extent though does bear observation.
True Selfless Action:
True selfless action is that action which benefits the self in no way be it emotional, egotistical, or physical and as such to some degree does not classically exist. Most people who are “do-gooders” or seeking a the higher path tend to do so with the acceptance that it makes them good to help others. This may be in the role of one working a soup kitchen, acting as an aid or teacher, working in the capacity of the service industries of law or medicine, or even simply in the act of picking up a stray piece of trash from the ground. The nature of these semi-selfless actions is that they in some way provide an emotional or egotistical boost to the self and as such are not truly selfless. This is not to be shamed but understood in the walking of a higher path. The higher path is one that is still dependent on the walker of the path to actively pursue it and thereby the removal of the walker does nothing for the path its self.
The Higher Path:
The higher path is a concept expressed in books, movies, philosophical texts and various other incarnations as the path in which a person becomes a benefit to all or in some way makes a connection to a higher state of being than the normal in which beneficial actions come then naturally. The nature of such a path though is one filled with peace, love, happiness, and a sense of full fulfillment. These things are all ego, emotion, and self driven and in some ways show that the higher path is by its own nature still a very human implementation of thought and action. This recognition of the higher path as still human is quintessential to the walking of the higher path less one aggrandize their own sense of action above another.
Callings:
The higher path has little to do with being truly selfless and much to do with what we will refer to as Callings. Callings are the ways in which we are called to help others around us. This may be as a medical worker, full filling the requirements of an EMT, acting as a confidant, putting in time in a soup kitchen, helping events that benefit charity, recycling, or any other number of callings. The nature of a calling is that it is a personal call to help. This means that the greatest satisfaction for the one who experiences their calling is in the act of full fulfillment of the higher path through their calling.
The Selfishness of Selfless Dedication:
Remove the calling that a walker of the higher path so holds dear and one of two things can occur. Either a second calling comes to take its place or the walker of the path instead seeks to fill that void by regaining the ability to pursue that calling. When one replaces one calling with another this is a continuation of the higher path but still a selfish one. Such a replacement takes time, acclimation, and redirection of resources and strengths. Yet this is still a selfish action in that it is a full filling experience that the walker of the path engages in. An example of this would be in one who seeks social full fulfillment and after loosing their position as a social worker goes then to work their free hours in a soup kitchen. The alternative example would of course be the former social worker who regains their position, or one so very similar, and continues back on their path. The nature of these path changes includes a time period of adjustment where they are building back up to walking the higher path in some fashion. During such adjustment periods a level of pure selfishness or self interest often takes place as resources are shifted to meet the end goals.
The Darker Side of the Higher Path:
This writing would not be complete without understanding the darker side of these actions especially as it concerns the destruction of a calling and the evolution of the walker of the higher path. When a calling is destroyed a third option not listed above is possible. This is a shut down of all external action and helpfulness, a complete shut down of the higher path, until other criteria are met. This may be an emotional healing process, conditions are viable for walking the former higher path again, or simply until another calling replaces the older calling. In such a state of being the higher path walker does not however walk the path during this darker period. Likewise the possibility of not walking the path again remains viable as the time in life is short and the evolution of their path may not have time to complete fully.