What is the "Third Path"?

Welcome! My name is Allison Fairchild, I'm the artist behind Third Path Art. If you'd like to know what the third path means for me, you're in the right place! 

Like many people, I've spent a lot of my life trying to fit in. Between the expectations of parents, classmates, romantic partners, or employers, we have a lot of boundaries around our self-expression. For me, the labels I was given were sometimes comfortable, but often not. I wasn't ever really at ease about being myself - it always seemed like some parts of me weren't acceptable. 

Finally, in my middle years, I realized how frustrated I was by this constant need to mask my true self. There was almost no situation in which I felt I could be authentically me. I finally had to admit that I was more concerned with other people's perceptions of me than I was with my own fulfillment. Frankly, that seemed like a really backwards way to live my life. 

Given that realization, I started thinking about the paths we walk from birth. We start out with the potential for nearly anything, but we are quickly bound to the path that our caregivers feel is appropriate. As we get a bit older we make our way more independently, but we often only exchange the path of our early influences for those of employers and partners. 

Eventually, if we are lucky, we become aware that we still walking a path that is determined by others. The way we dress, speak, spend our time, and interact with others is still on autopilot. We realize that we have the ability to choose, and we begin to prioritize our own needs in these areas. We begin to walk the third path. 

The concept of the third path is deeply personal for me. It signifies the moment in life when we move beyond the roles that others have had for us and choose to embody our own identity. Self-expression becomes conscious as we embrace the truth of ourselves. 

No matter how this manifests in your life - whether it is through your appearance, your work, your communication, the way you choose to spend your time, or any of the myriad possible ways you say, "This is who I am," - I hope that you find yourself constantly inspired by who you are. 

Third Path Art aims to connect with those who embrace authenticity in their lives and express their uniqueness. There is only one you!