As a child growing up my family would make an annual road trip to visit my aunt, uncle and cousins. I always looked forward to our visits and time with them was the highlight of many of my summers. Although, I loved being there and spending time together, I did not enjoy the 9 hour road trip! I was ready to be there before the family car left the driveway! If teleportation was possible, I would’ve preferred that route.
I got bored in the car, tired of sitting, I could hang for a while by coming up with games to play with my brother and sister or sing some songs to entertain myself, but I just wanted to get to our destination already! We didn’t stop when I wanted to and sometimes we stopped when I didn’t want to. I couldn’t read because I would get car sick. The car was too stuffy sometimes and other times I would convulse because of the frigid air coming through my dad’s rolled down window. I didn’t really enjoy the process of getting to our destination.
I’ve come to realize that my attitude towards life has at times been fairly similar to my attitude towards my childhood summer road trips. So little of life is spent at the finish line, a great deal of it is spent on the journey getting there. What would be different if I learned to enjoy the process of getting there and didn’t wait to celebrate until I arrived at my intended destination? Instead of being solely focused on the end goal, what if while heading that direction, I enjoyed the ride?
You see, most of life is the journey, very little time is spent at the finish line. Daily life is spent preparing, working, failing, trying again, moving forward, taking two steps backwards, failing and trying again. What a shame to not embrace the journey when it comprises most of my limited time here on earth, when it’s where I spend most time in relationship with others, when it’s where the growth happens. If I only focus on the arrival, I’ve missed out on a lot of sweetness along the way.
Instead of asking, “Are we there yet?” I want to learn to soak up the goodness on the way! Anyone ready for a road trip?
Neeserisms 