Embrace the Journey

18 Nov 2013

Embrace the Journey

When I was a child I remember fondly the idea that my family was going on a “vacation” – a road trip.

There was an excitement about the “journey” and all that came with it. Sure there was the superhighway, but there was also roadside stops. Places along the way to stop. The restaurants strategically placed, the car-parks to stop, attractions worthwhile to get out of the car. There was “time” actually… at least it seemed to be more of it.

We may be weren’t as much in a hurry back then it seems. We had interest in what was going by the windows as we drove by. “Getting there” was still important, but taking a planned detour… heading down a rural route, was just as important.

Which is why I sometimes ponder what makes me in such a “hurry”. Perhaps it is because everything is instant these days. In my life seems like most inventions have all designed to be moving things along quicker. Faster cars, faster cooking, faster Internet with faster search engines, faster travel, faster answers.

Even the movies we watch are faster. Watching an “old” mystery movie the other nite with my daughter from 1995 (gasp) it was amazing how slow the plot moved, how slow the dialog moved. We both noticed. My daughter was wondering if people were just slower back in ’95. We both were thinking that we hit the FF button we could get to the mysterious conclusion.

Guess its time to work on slowing things down a bit. Cherish the journey. I have been so busy thinking about being in a hurry at work, that I have even ignored the most important person in my life, the love of my life, and hurt her more than I can imagine. Just thinking about how to get the job done at work I have missed what is around me. What’s with that?

How many things have you let pass by because you were so focused on the destination?

How often have you missed the most interesting things in your life as you drove ahead to reach where you thought you needed to be?

Embrace the journey. Bring your loved ones with you. Take life’s trip, but take some time to stop along the way and enjoy the ride.