Enjoy the Journey . . .
The world is lost, or so I keep hearing. It seems by all appearances that a great many people are troubled by today’s headlines and happenings. COVID-19, social injustice, the movement to unlink the past with the present, income inequality, political divisiveness – Those are just the tip of the iceberg of so many anxieties that ail us today as a society. I can only speak for myself that I often feel overwhelmed from the barrage of the never-ending problems that society faces and that sometimes amid all the noise, I lose sight of the journey.
A successful, meaningful life is a journey not a destination.
The sometimes challenging, but forever beautiful journey of life is getting lost in today’s headlines. While I do not portent to know the mechanics of understanding of the “why” all this is happening, I do know that I need only to be reassured of my own “why” in my life’s journey.
Our life’s journey begins in our childhood. When I think of my own memories they run so thick in my mind, I can almost feel their viscosity. I remember the wonder of my childhood, of wanting to soak in every detail of life around me, playing with friends, and dreaming of the endless possibilities of what my life would look like in the future. I often see young children today, and I think how much possibility lay before them. How will they change the world? What kind of hurdles will they face? Will they be able to conquer the fears and obstacles that will inevitably be part of their journey?
I remember when I was a teenager on my way to becoming an adult, I often think of the many challenges that stage of life brought about, and the exciting time of realizing what possibilities I had. Once again, fears and obstacles were part of that phase of my life’s journey.
As a young adult, I was filled with energy and enthusiasm. Starting my working career and understanding how to find my way in this world. Discovering love, and a deeper understanding of who I was, and what I wanted to become.
My journey’s most beautiful stage (so far) was starting a family, and finally understanding what my parents were trying to explain to me all those years, of how important the word “unconditional” is. Seeing your hopes and dreams through the eyes of your children is something I cherish even today. I hope we as a society never lose sight of that. Our children are precious.
The most valuable thing (so far) that I’ve learned is that buried deep within dealing with my own fears and difficulties lie the greatest lessons of my life. I understand myself better, having faced my fears, and having overcome hardships (so far anyway as I have yet so much to learn).
So often times we are taught to fear the unknown, rather than embrace it and welcome it into our journey. It is in the unknown where we find all of our possibilities. In these past few months we have had a great deal of unknown and so much of our established order has been rocked to its core. We forget that personal growth has its greatest potential in the unknown.
Think back on your own journey and to the many feelings experienced along the way like love, hope, fear, regret, and of the many challenges that you’ve faced along the way to stand where you are today.
I know, I’m thankful for my journey so far, and I’m filled with excitement and enthusiasm to see what lay ahead for me, and what lessons I can learn from for what I yet do not know.
Be grateful for your journey. You are who you are today, because of it. Enjoy and embrace it, because it doesn’t last forever, and whatever society’s ills are today, understand that this is just one part of your own beautiful journey.
I hope you find time to reflect on, and to smile and enjoy your own life journey, in spite of these difficult times when the world is trying to turn your focus away from it.