It’s About the Journey, not the Destination

Hello again,

I’ve really begun to notice a particular pattern in my writing on this blog. In my thinking itself. I always seem to write about destinations. Ending points in learning or acceptance or the like. A finale of some sort. I see myself envisioning that sometimes, and thus it has been translated in my writing.

Ooooh is that for me? (Photo credit: DVIDSHUB)

I find myself almost romanticizing the “end” of the journey/journeys that we go on. There are many, and some are difficult. On those paths, I hope to have some sort of great prize awaiting my arrival. The truth, though, is that life is not really so much about the destination, the ending place one arrives at, as it is about the pathway and experiences one takes away from the whole thing.

Look at your life. Doesn’t the vast majority of it seem to be ‘on the way to somewhere’? It’s always another climb, another great distance to cross. We look only at the horizon where we hope to eventually be, and never at the ground beneath our feet, a place that deserves more of your attentionthan anything. Because it doesn’t just end. The path you just took leads to a hundred more, as the process of discovery is not a short one.

That mountain up ahead? One might see it as the final destination of their journey, but in reality, it’s just another part of the journey itself. (Photo credit: blmiers2)

Those that look back on their lives and regret not doing more are the people that had their eyes glued on the horizon and nothing else.

Doesn’t it always seem as though the road you’re currently on is just a never-ending lane of endlessness? Sometimes that’s just exactly what it is. I’m not saying nothing ever changes nor am I saying that that single road will stretch on forever onto the very edges of our universe. I’m saying that you’re always on some sort of road, and that cycle of roads never ends. It explains the sometimes painful monotony we all come up against. I don’t see how growth can ever have a final point. I don’t believe true “perfection” can ever be achieved as long as we’re human. It’s something that frankly doesn’t exist for us. Thus, I do not think that those thoughts deserve their space in our collective minds.

I don’t know where exactly I’m going right now. Maybe I never will. But I’m not going to let my expectations limit the possibilities of what can be. (Photo credit: VinothChandar)

We like to have a point, an exact location where we can set our minds up for expectation. Results of some kind, whatever kind we imagine up and settle on. It’s a closed minded way of living. It’s that kind of mentality that can ruin the experience of the whole adventure.

To learn about what life is all about, it’s meaning to you, a shift in mindset has to be made. No longer can we march through life with all our focus on the reward perched at the ‘end’ of the road. We rush through far too often, attention on the things that don’t feed our souls. Living like that leads only to the unhappiness that is so apparent in our world today.

Instead, I believe our attention and energy should be concentrated on the journey of exploration and discovery, of mistakes and learning. That is where the true rewards, the truly important pieces of life lie.

It’s not about getting there, it’s not about how quickly one can arrive. It’s about what you take away from your experiences on the way there. Growth and learning has no limit. It’s about the journey, not the destination.

–mrprose

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• My life: it’s all about the journey not the destination (baghaya.wordpress.com)
• It’s the journey (rjptalk.wordpress.com)