The Journey & the Goal

I awoke from a dream this morning. It was a normal sort of dream, as many of my dreams are fantastic and sometimes prophetic. In the dream, I was at my local gas station talking with the owner’s son. He had done a lot of work on my cars in the past. Yeah, that kind of gas station! He was showing me pictures of his trip to Katahdin Mountain in Maine. I loved the pic he showed me of him on Knife’s Edge, a narrow pass at the top of the mountain that had severe drops on each side. I thought to myself, you never did that, yet. At 60 years old I never climbed Katahdin or walked across the Knife’s Edge even though I had lived in Maine for 20 years.

I looked at this young man’s face, so full of happiness and fond memories of his trip. He couldn’t keep from smiling as he talked. I said to him: “Here’s some advice from an old man (well almost old man). Find every adventure. Keep your eyes, ears and most importantly, your heart open to the possibilities life gives you each and every day. Fill your life with as many fabulous memories as you can. Because when you get older and look back at your life, it will feel full and happy. Sure, you will have regrets. That is part of growing and living. But the greatest regrets I have today is what I didn’t do.”

A person once said to me there is a moment each day in our lives that we have the possibility to change the world. I pondered that statement for many years. When I began to learn and practice Mindfulness, I began to understand that statement. Here’s an example: you see someone (on the street, in a store, etc.) and they look down, making eye contact, you offer a smile and a hello. Maybe as a reflex, or maybe not, they smile back and say hello. It was a simple exchange. But within that exchange carries an enormous possibility for change.

As a result of that smile, that person feels just a little bit better. They begin to spread that bit of happiness to others. Hopefully in return that happiness spreads and makes even a small and insignificant change in others. It becomes like a snowball effect. When we add conversation into the equation the possibilities expand. This is how new friendships are created. This is precisely how we stay connected to the original World Wide Web, pure conversation with others. This is the journey.

I finished my conversation with the young man: “it is about the journey, not the destination. If you keep your eye on your idea of where you want to go, you will miss everything along the way. And at times, like walking on a tree-lined dirt road, the path gets washed away, or you come up against a boulder that momentarily diverts your travel, the goal seems to get further away, or it changes completely.

“All those experiences and adventures you had walked past on your road to the goal would have taken you closer to the true goal in your life. And along the way, your life would have been more rich and happy as a result. So, Live, enjoy your life’s adventures, don’t be afraid to feel and make mistakes. It is how we grow and how we create lasting happiness and memory”