Trust in what you love, continue to do it, and it will take you

Hear the words of Natalie Goldberg, teacher of writing and spirit, who declared: “Trust in what you love, continue to do it, and it will take you where you need to go.” These words are not light; they are a compass for the restless heart. For so many wander through life chasing shadows, uncertain of the path, doubting whether their passion can sustain them. Goldberg reminds us of an ancient truth: when you place your faith in the fire of your love—in the craft, in the calling, in the work that stirs your soul—life itself will shape a road beneath your feet.

The ancients too proclaimed this wisdom. The Greek poet Pindar urged: “Become who you are by learning who you are.” To become yourself is to follow the thread of passion laid within you by the gods. The Indian Bhagavad Gita spoke of dharma—the sacred duty unique to each soul—and warned that it is better to fail in one’s own calling than to succeed in another’s. Goldberg’s words echo these timeless voices: trust what your heart clings to with joy, for in it lies your destiny.

Consider the life of Vincent van Gogh. He was scorned in his time, dismissed as unstable and poor. Yet he loved painting, and though the world denied him recognition, he did not abandon his path. He continued with fierce devotion, brushstroke upon brushstroke, trusting in the fire that consumed him. Today his works stand as eternal testaments to his faith in passion. He did not live to see his reward, yet his life shows us that to continue in what one loves is to serve something greater than success: it is to serve truth itself.

Or think of Marie Curie, who faced endless obstacles as a woman in science. The world doubted her, resisted her presence in laboratories, closed doors against her. Yet she trusted her love for discovery. She continued her work with steadfastness, and it carried her to groundbreaking discoveries in radioactivity, winning her not one but two Nobel Prizes. Her life illustrates Goldberg’s wisdom: trust what you love, pursue it without ceasing, and it will carry you where no map could have led you.

Goldberg’s teaching also reminds us that the path is not always straight. Trust does not mean ease. The love you follow may lead you through deserts, hardships, and loneliness. Yet if it is true love of the soul, it will not abandon you. Each challenge will refine you, each obstacle will teach you, and in the end you will find that the path, though difficult, has taken you exactly where you were meant to go.

The danger lies in abandoning what you love for what is safe. Many settle for comfort, for approval, for wealth, and in doing so they betray their passion. But the heart cannot be silenced forever; regret whispers louder than failure. To trust in what you love is to choose the harder, braver road, but it is also the only road that leads to fulfillment.

So, children of tomorrow, take this wisdom into your bones: “Trust in what you love, continue to do it, and it will take you where you need to go.” Ask yourself what stirs your heart, what brings you alive, and then follow it with devotion. Do not measure yourself by the speed of success, but by the faithfulness of your steps. Continue through joy, through trial, through doubt, and in time, the road will open, the doors will yield, and you will arrive—not where others thought you should be, but where your soul was always meant to dwell. This is Goldberg’s gift, a truth as old as time: passion is the truest guide, and perseverance is the key to destiny.