The video game Journey from Thatgamecompany was released with the support of Sony Santa Monica. It has quickly become one of my favorite games.

Journey is an interactive parable, an anonymous online adventure to experience a person’s life passage and their intersections with other’s.

While in the desert area of Journey, I encountered another player. I watched as they ran off, and the speed and intention they used led me to believe that they knew something I did not.

I immediately began to follow them.

We kept moving across the sand dunes at full pace, over and across ridges, but never encountering anything of interest. This continued for about 10 minutes until we reached an area where the wind blew so hard that we could not advance any further.

At this point, the other character sat down and disappeared. After following all this time, trusting them, hoping to discover something useful or important, they simply left. The other player literally disconnected, leaving me alone in the middle of a desert.

I had given up my desired path, and now I was so far away from the point where I started that I didn’t even know how to start making my way back to where I began.

I have felt the same way in life. Sometimes we chase after other’s dreams, or follow in their footsteps, thinking that somehow we will be better off for it. We assume this so-called “expert” has knowledge that we do not possess.

Then when we think the answer we have been looking for is about to arrive, we find out that we are alone.

Worse yet we are so far from the place in life where we wanted to be, and now the reason for being here is gone too. I’ve seen this happen with friends, co-workers, and I have even felt it myself. The sense of being abandoned, forgotten, or left by our self, is really a heavy burden. We can take this lesson as a reminder to be cautious the next time we are tempted to follow the crowd, or even another individual.

We must remember that we are on a journey of our own.

If we spend our lives following, we end up in places we do not know, do not want to be, and do not know how to leave.

And when we do leave, we experience the pain and frustration of lost time, effort, energy, and even a little (or big) piece of who we are. Sure it can be lonely to go out on our own, but we cannot let loneliness be the reason for diverting our life’s journey.

If you are not actively pursuing your own path, then you are spending your life helping others chase their dreams.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying to turn your back on everyone else. There is something fulfilling about helping others be successful – I am all for that. However, this cannot be at the expense of your own calling and purpose.

Pursue your own path and enjoy the journey.