"Life is a journey, not a destination" so says this famous Ralph Waldo Emerson quote.
I think I might finally understand it. I've spent a lot of time over the years always trying to get to the next step, the next place, to be the next big thing. All the while never following the advice of another popular proverb to "stop and smell the roses" along the way.
This thing we call life was always a destination, and the destination was never good enough. More, more, more. More of everything....time, money, success, confidence, and on and on.
It's been two years now of not working full time, not moving at 100 mph every day, and not obliviously just going through the motions of day to day life. While I never anticipated this length of break, it seems to me that it was just the thing needed to truly grasp Emerson’s words. It's been two years to slow down, to reflect, and to realize that I have enough of everything I need - the important stuff. It has given me the opportunity to stop and smell the roses.
It’s also been two years of not knowing what each day will bring, of not having a concrete plan, and of just putting one foot in front of the other carrying forward through the good and bad, the expected and the unexpected, and doing it all with an open heart and mind. Isn’t that what a journey is all about?
I think I get it now.
Ah, one foot in front of the other and suddenly you look back on a tapestry of footprints. Seems so easy to forget the art of journeying. Thanks for the reminder! The story is all in the ride.
ReplyDeleteYou're awesome, Rachelle. I so admire you. :)
ReplyDelete