There is a popular saying that the “destination is the journey.” However, most of us have some pre-visualization of a destination and not much of the journey. We’re focused on the dream home, the career, the perfect family, a life of travel, status, money, whatever it is. Then, after all the planning and starting out on the journey we find we are unable to see the destination. All we’re experiencing is the journey. We thought we know where we’re going, but this is not what we had in mind.
Well, we started out on the dirt path and before long we found a fork in the road. Where did this come from? It was not in our plans. We decide to go left. Before long we find ourselves on a rickety boardwalk surrounded by cattails rising above our heads. We begin to question our decision to go left. There is no destination be seen. We’re not sure about this boardwalk or where it’s leading us? Will we run out of boardwalk? Should we turn back?
But, you know what, we made the choice to make this journey so let’s see where it leads. We just might enjoy the journey more than we expected. After walking a short distance we begin to realize the cattails are providing shelter from the heat of the day. We notice the dragonflies zipping in an out of the cattails and a sunflower plant rising above the cattails. Even though we can’t see him, we hear a Red-winged blackbird singing somewhere among those cattails. He is soon joined by a chorus of croaking frogs. And, we imagine they are encouraging us to move onward. A spider scurries to get out of our way. We realize we are not alone on this journey. Before long the boardwalk makes a curve and we enter into an opening. A bench awaits us and the clouds join the setting sun to makes today a beautiful journey. As much as we plan, the journey may not be exactly as we planned or expected but we feel inside we’re on the right boardwalk. Wonder where the rest of the boardwalk goes? It does go right.
9 Comments
Steve Skinner
It never fails to amaze me what I find when I actually look.
Monte Stevens
Then you are enjoying the journey, Steve.
Tom Dills
We spend far too much time worrying about where we aren’t and not nearly enough time appreciating where we are. The journey IS the destination as far as I’m concerned.
Monte Stevens
Thanks, Tom.
Earl
A delightful post, Monte. Reality and experience teach the destination or results are seldom as we planned…sometimes worst, sometimes better. But as in your story of the unexpected boardwalk we need to keep moving, to choose to take those next uncertain steps, while enjoying each enriching moment along the way. Oh, I always hear the saying as “the journey is the destination” but either way it means the same.
Not a photo I would have initially connected to Colorado…I have much yet to see…isn’t it wonderful! 🙂
Monte Stevens
Thanks, Earl. This nature area is located at the edge of town and is along side the Poudre River. The city built this boardwalk across this marsh and really is enjoyable to me. It really can connect a person in the middle of nature, bugs and all. The flood last fall really twisted and warped the boardwalk in a couple areas which just added to it for me. I’ve never seen the cattails this tall, thus the image.
Cedric Canard
I like it.
Monte Stevens
Thanks, Cedric. It is very different from our street shots.
Paul
The interesting thing about the destination is that when we reach it, we always seem to think of yet another destination … if we’d stop to realize that it was the getting there, or the journey that we enjoyed, perhaps we wouldn’t be in such a hurry to “reach the end”.
That was a great story that you spun there, Monte. I scrolled down just enough … just enough so that I couldn’t see the bottom picture, savoring the journey before reaching the destination. 🙂