J – JOURNEY

soul

Rilke: The only journey is the one within –

Aging is yet another journey we step into. It is always changing, and it changes us.

 We’re all pilgrims as we travel and experience peaks and valleys on our journeys. The path is never straight; it changes constantly sending us in new directions, sometimes unplanned and unpredictable. The journey often brings us to crossroads and we may be uncertain whether to go left, right or straight ahead and we wonder where our steps taken consciously or otherwise have led us or will still, yet to go ..

 We’ve already made many steps; we’ve crossed bridges, swum in turbulent waters and come up gasping; some steps have been halting, some made with confidence. We’ve achieved much and have left footprints in the sand as we journey on – and we lose something as we go further into this journey called ‘life’. We lose friends, partners, we say farewell to youth –

 How often we hear the saying: it’s not the destination that matters, it’s the journey – There is truth in this phrase, but to turn it around a bit, can we say that the journey IS the destination – unknown though it may be?

 There are other discoveries we make as we journey into aging. Is this a question that needs asking? I like that the word ‘question’ contains ‘quest’ within it …

 Do we have a quest for something more even as we age or approach old age? Even if we answer ‘I don’t know’ this in itself opens up possibilities. Aging is a journey of discovery – found within as we find out perhaps for the first time, what we need, what is important to us in the scheme of things, what gives succour to our soul.

 We may be able to describe the scent of a rose to someone else, but there is nothing comparable to actually smelling it yourself. Similarly, we make our own map, weaving the tapestry of our labyrinthine lives. The course may change, and we change as we discover inner depths of which we were previously unaware. We may journey through darkness in search of our own truth and this journey takes us to where we’ve never been before.

 It reminds me of tackling a jigsaw puzzle, fitting all the pieces together to make a whole. A large one say 1500 small pieces, takes forever, and is full of frustrations trying to get them to fit. And once complete, there is another jigsaw puzzle …

 The sun and moon journey daily and nightly – so too we journey as we age and become more of who we are as we journey into our own presence.

Do you ever give any thought to being on a journey?

39 Comments on J- Journey

  2. thank you for these reflections and here is a poem I wrote some time ago that seems to suggest the unknown of our journey.
    ‘all the time I am on a journey
    wherever I go I have gone somewhere else
    which is close to nowhere and beyond everything
    whenever I go it is timeless all the time
    Regards Sandra

  3. Beautiful post! I love the part about the quest.
    Lovely picture and quote to accompany your post also.
    I see you’re in Phoenix. My youngest son is in Goodyear. I was just there a month ago to see my new grandson.
    Have a wonderful day!

    • Thank you Trisha! I returned home to South Africa from the States this past week – Susan Schwartz lives in Phoenix and I stayed with her for several days. It’s a lovely city and surrounds. Congratulations on new grand son! And have a lovely weekend.

  4. Sometimes that’s the scariest part of life, the fact that we have to keep moving forward without knowing for sure what’s going to happen next, whether it will hurt or not. God always brings me through, though, and whatever goes wrong He works out for the best.

    • Yes, that’s true Robert. It seems though that the risk is worth it, no matter what lies ahead, with G.d as your Guide. Thank you so much for commenting.

  5. Wonderful post. It is sad how many people view life by accomplishments and not the journey. As I grow older I am always amazed at how much I still have to learn and how much I thought I knew when I was younger.

    I’m enjoying taking this journey with you.

    • Thank you so much Kathryn for your comment. Journeying is itself an ‘accomplishment’! But I know what you mean … Yes, we thought we knew it all when we were younger!

  6. Of course, at least since I became an adult I have been aware that I am on a journey; and I have, at this moment, arrived at my destination, at least a way station. Thanks for reminding me of this, Susan.

    What Robert says — totally: I couldn’t ask for better companions and guides than I have at this moment. You are just what I need.

    –And, regarding journeys, so glad you made it home safe and sound, Susan. Such a delightful meeting we had on the phone.

    • Thank you so much Samantha. That is so nice what you say – and always so wonderful that you come by and add your wisdom. We all learn from each other ..
      Thanks for the reminder that I was on a journey – I honestly didn’t think of it like that! And of course it WAS a journey! Punctuated beautifully by actually speaking with you on the phone! And back home safe and sound.
      Have a lovely weekend.

    • Andrea, ‘anticipation’ – I love that word. Distinct from ‘expectation’ … anticipation has (for me) a sense of delicious, which pulls me on. Thank you for commenting.

  8. So beautifully written. “The journey” and all it entails is why I named our new community “The Road We’ve Shared.” It’s by and for parents and caregivers of adults who have Down syndrome. The idea is that we’ve all been on the same road together, without a map, and even though our roads have been different, we can share the memories and work together going forward.

    Your post fits beautifully into that mission! So glad I found it

    The Road We’ve Shared A to Z

    • That is so lovely Stephanie – the journey, when shared, makes the unknown less frightening.
      I’ll be checking your post later and thank you for coming by here! Have a great weekend.

  9. I enjoyed this very much. I enjoyed many of your post. I thought before I go through liking every post you have, I better slow down a bit and leave a comment. I stopped in from the A to Z Challenge and I want to thank you for visiting me as well. Have yourself a wonderful day. I shall return! 🙂

  10. Hi,

    Robert Frost, an American poet, wrote a poem that I first read in my last year of high school. It was The Road Not Taken and it so impressed me that I learned it by memory. It is one of my journey poems and it always reminds me that I am in a journey, a traveller walking through.

    Thank you for the enlightenment you have shared about the journey.

    Shalom,
    Patricia

    • Thank you Patricia. Also Scott Peck’s book ‘The Road Less Travelled’ comes to mind. I will look up Robert Frost’s poem – thank you for saying. I like what you say ‘traveller walking through’.
      Thank you as always for your comments – so much appreciated!

  13. A journey we aren’t always prepared for, but must take anyway. Exactly, nothing compares our own journey with others we might read or hear about, as in your very good roses example. I guess I think about my journey when I look at my son (age ten). How will my journey look like when he’s twenty, or older? Interesting how that happens. Thanks for this great post, Susan.

  14. I liked your equating life to being an explorer. I have always loved the wilderness and the woods, yet at the same time I wonder if I’m lost trying to find my way back to a straight-forward path. I’m thinking I’m seeing some signs of civilization… BUT will I find it in time.

    As for climbing the next hill to look out over the valley to see what lies ahead of me… I don’t think I’m at that point yet.

    Thank you for your very interesting post. Sadly, you make me think!

    • Thank you Debi .. I also entertain thoughts about now, yesterday and tomorrow!
      Re: the jigsaw puzzle … 1500 pieces can take forever!
      I heard about a build up over the Pacific ocean and I hope that no-one is affected in your neck of the woods. Here in South Africa we have other dangers ..

    • Dear Mindy;
      The wondrous come in many ways along the way–sometimes in garb that may not be so beautiful–but valuable nonetheless.
      Thank you,
      Susan

  17. Left, right or otherwise… I could not request better company than the thoughtful contributors here.

    Thank you.

    Soujourner,

    R.

  18. Thank you, Susan, for this lovely post. We share the Sun and Moon’s journey every day, and the changes you mention are a reality. I’ve been surprised recently at how different I feel about so many things given the passage of time. It’s all about enjoying life in the labyrinth as it happens, and the journey 🙂

    • Thank you Sharon for stopping by! Yes, we do feel the difference as we journey – the road sometimes gets wider; or narrower as the case may be ..

  19. Journey is the destination…something I have recently come to realise -and feel v lucky to have had this light bulb moment. Lovely posting that for me is the most significant marker in the Aging process! Look forward to the blogs to come!

  20. Susan and Susan,

    I love this. “the journey IS the destination” ,- changing us from merely being caught in the stream of life, to swimming , feeling and taking part as we flow through life. I’m young, new to the journey, and have lots to learn and experience. As I’m growing and experiencing I’m learning to trust life more, attempt to let go of fears and patterns, places, things that don’t work for me. And enjoy. Be free. Risk and trust. And love.

    Hope you have a wonderful day!

    • Thank you Oda, how well you express this. It doesn’t matter what age you are – young, old, in between, the journey is a growing experience and if one can risk and trust and love, let go of what doesn’t work for you, be yourself, then all will be well … and all manner of things will be well.

  21. Oh, yes, it is a journey, and I have often felt that I had no map to guide me as to which road to take or turn to make. Sometimes I have felt a push from an unseen hand to make a decision that changed my life. Some of the people I have met along the way are journeying with me; others have taken different paths. It doesn’t matter; we’re all heading for that same final destination. And, all is well.

    • Thank you Patricia; that ‘push from an unseen hand’ makes such a difference if we but listen and pay attention to it.

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