Have you ever rushed to get somewhere, mindless of and frustrated by where you were? The time between the here you were and the there you wanted to be? In my past, I had often rushed to get somewhere in just such hurried harried haste. At some point, when we learn better, we realize joy and life are the journey itself.
In the words of Greg Anderson:
“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.”
Recently, I have driven on the same very roads I had rushed to get past in years past. Roads with vistas beyond breathtakingly beautiful. Vistas virtually ignored in years past.
The roads, in the past, were as obstacles between where I was and where I thought I wanted to be. ( for more on wanting see also: http://choose.ws/2009/11/10/positive-pivots/choosing/how-to-get-what-i-want/yucel/ ) The company journeying with me were not appreciated. The vistas, went largely unappreciated.
I received an email today which had a version of this quote within it. On googling it, I found the source of and original form of the quote.
“Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once.” – Lillian Dickson
My journeys in the past, often were like coins spent on time wasted.
I had spent the only thing we ever have in life, which is time, to kill the only thing we ever have in life, which is time.
Time is the journey.
Today when I drive these same beautiful roads, I appreciate the time I have, perhaps behind a slower driver, the chance this provides for me to slow down, to be present to my company, to view and enjoy the scenery around me, the time I have to be with my thoughts. This is my time. This is my life.
Time is the journey. Time is my journey. Time is our journey.
Time is the very coin of life.
Enjoy and embrace every fractional instant of it.
On any road, in any place, there are joys to be enjoyed, if we are present to and grateful for them. If we choose to fill our lives with them.
Fill your life with joys.
Find things to be grateful for right were you are.
Use the time you have to enjoy the life you have.
The roads are the same, only I transformed am changed.
Yours in journey,
Yucel
One thing I am now aware of is the rollercoaster nature I chose my life to be in the past. Days were drudgery in anticipation of some future high – a holiday away, a new age conference, a visit from a friend – anything other than the normal routine – that took up only a small portion of life’s time currency.
Now each moment brings a new gift for me to open. One was listening to the crunch of the earth beneath my feet during the labyrinth walk and remembering a beautiful cousin just after her transition. It really is about the journey, not the destination.
Thanks for sharing that experience.
Love and hugs! Claire