My sweetheart Jeannette and I have had this discussion many times, and Henry Miller is quoted as saying it so well: “One’s destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things.” Too often we get caught up thinking that the whole purpose of life is to achieve a goal. That is an example of backwards thinking. The fact is the goal is only a symbol of our journey. It is the journey which has expanded possibility to the point where the goal can be achieved.
To get to the goal it is entirely possible that whole new understandings of fundamental concepts will have to be undertaken, new understandings will have to be re-defined. Ultimately the “goal” becomes somewhat of a let-down, anti-climatic if you will.
If you plan a trip to Maui, you think about the snorkeling and hiking you might do, the food you might eat, that magical breeze you will feel, and wind up your thought process with “then we come home,” well, you are already home, you don’t have to take the trip at all! Going to Maui is a journey, it is about feeling something new, experiencing something different, and so it is with all of life, is our goal really our final resting place, or is it the experiences of loving, winning, losing, achieving, understanding?
Make the most of this life, give yourself credit for making the journey, and give the journey the credit it deserves for offering new experience, and of course, read It’s All About Me, the Involved Observer as part of that journey!
