Try as you may …..
You're gonna wind up where you started from.
"Sitting" by Cat Stevens
On a couple of occasions in this blog, I've used the phrase "it's not the destination, it's the journey" to describe a situation. It's an old chestnut, used many times in many contexts by many people. But what does it actually mean ?
I consider myself to be both a lucky and a happy person. Many things make me say this. I have health, some money, a home over my head and food in my belly. I have lots of really good friends who bring fun and wisdom to my life. I have a wonderful family who ground me and let me dream as well. And I have a terrific wife to share it all with.
You'd think, then, that I'd be content to stay still, sit and enjoy all that I have. After all, I'm not a young man any more. I have done many things, seen fantastic sights, experienced the wonders of life. Why not just sit back and remember these things?
I can't. I have to move. I have to get out there and see more and do more. I'm almost 65 and there are still lots of things on the list. And I feel that, if I don't get busy and do them, I'll run out of time.
On this trip, we had a small checklist of things we wanted to see. And, for the most part, we saw them. "Great," you might say …. "mission accomplished." Well, partly true, I suppose, but there was so much else that we didn't plan for and didn't know about that we were able to enjoy. And those things occurred as were driving. It wasn't that we were deliberately heading for them "to get there", although many things we enjoyed were "at the end of the day's drive." But it was the other stuff that filled our spirits with joy and wonder. And then, they were gone, because there was another bend in the road, another vista to behold, another possibility to explore.
We started the trip in Newmarket on Sept. 4 and, 8000 kilometers later, we ended in Newmarket on Sept. 24, twenty days later. Some might say that we didn't actually go anywhere. But we know different. We went to places that we'd seen before, 37 years ago, and some places we'd never been before.
That is the journey. It was exhausting. It was frustrating, at times. It was expensive. And it was beautiful beyond measure.
Destination? We know it too well. Give me the journey any time !! Skol !!
