Young children are not told about this, because it is too early for them to know. The time for such conversations comes when a person is rapidly approaching the ninth grade of school. The time has come to answer an important life question - should I go to get a working speci alty or continue my studies at a university? During this period, the noun “path” emerges, it is almost as true as the operation of any physical law. There are no parents who would not have conversations with a child about his future.
The origin of "path" and "road"
Let's start with the origin, because the word is strange to the modern ear. We are lucky that it is in the etymological dictionary. So, the source claims that this is a borrowing from Old Slavonic, in which it meant "way, road." And, of course, this is not a road in the modern sense, but any place where you can go.
That is, when parentsthey talk about the path with their child, they insist that he choose the path in life that he will follow and become a real person. But only here in life the road is not chosen, but created. I recall the Strugatsky brothers' novel Noon, XXII Century. It had self-propelled roads. This life does not imply, everything is achieved by work and patience.
And it is also appropriate to mention the etymology of the word "road". The latter is related to "turf" and "tree" and is formed from the same base - "dor", that is, "cleared place". And the ancient ancestor is the verb "to make holes", that is, "to tear". The last circumstance needs an explanation. Initially, roads were laid through the forest, so such a strange etymology, but if you know the history, then there will be nothing surprising in this fact.
Meaning
Returning to the main object of study, you need to put aside the etymological dictionary and pick up an explanatory one. The latter contains the following meaning of the word "path": "path, road." As you can see, the meaning of the word has not changed over the past tense.
It is interesting that the word is rarely used in its direct meaning, it is rather the property of poetic speech, high style. People remember the path when it comes to moral values, choosing a profession. And for an ordinary road, there are words that are neutral in their expression. And the path is a “holiday” definition, so to speak. Moreover, one cannot say the same about the paths that were laid not by man, but by machines and created in the conditions of the technological age. The noun "path" is suitable for naming mountainand forest trails rather than high-speed highways.
Vocation is not chosen
But in the field of philosophical issues, such modernization is not expected yet. Therefore, when they talk about the difficulties of choosing a profession, they still use an outdated word, and immediately there is a feeling that the conversation is serious. But in fact, a person often enters the path of vocation by accident. And sometimes he resists the cause of his life for a long time. Sometimes this path finds a person by itself.
Remember the movie Lucky Gilmore (1996)? In it, the main character for a long time refused to admit that he was a golfer, dreaming of a career as a hockey player. But you need to do what a person is really good at. In other words, it's better to be a top golfer than a hockey player who isn't even good at skating. Let this be a science for all of us in dealing with the paths of life. This is where we end.
