A Reflection on Journeys

I have long been fascinated by the concept of journeys.  As a child, I daydreamed of adventures in strange lands, where I would help the protagonist of the latest book I was reading to accomplish feats of integrity and bravery.  I would close my eyes to swing so high that my toes touched the maple’s leaves; by the time I returned to the arc’s nadir, I would have been transported through space and time.

Journeys are appealing because of the story they imply: one leaves, encounters adventures and challenges, and eventually arrives at a new (and superior) destination.  Throughout the journey, one’s physical travels are mirrored by internal struggle towards emotional or spiritual understanding.  A journey is quite different from a trip or a vacation, which suggest physical travel absent the emotional overtones.  Our collective yearning for journeys can be traced through the plots of important Western texts, including Homer’s Odyssey and Melville’s Moby Dick.

On my recent road trip, I sought to experience new landscapes, cities, and parks.  One of my goals was to find a location that might become a future home for Matt and me.  I also hoped to meet individuals who could tell me something about life, as they had experienced it.

Most importantly, however, I hoped that my trip could be a catalyst for the broader life journey that I have begun – a quest to more closely live my values and purpose in my daily life and to define and occupy my space in the world.  This journey requires of me intention and reflection, and I do not expect to arrive at my destination any time soon.  In fact, I believe it unlikely that I ever will truly “arrive,” for life, unlike most stories, is iterative and constantly evolving.  A neat summing-up can only be conjured in hindsight, when it may never give guidance to the one who lived it.

Rather than feeling discouraged by that insight, however, I will choose to remain optimistic.  This is the core belief that grounds wanderlust and identity – the hope that tomorrow, I can live more fully into my potential than I did today – and the belief that this choice might exist for each of us, every day of our lives.