What If, the Destination is Now?

My blog post from last week, “There’s Always a Higher Speed Limit” received a lot of comments.  Below, I’d like to share one of those that one of my readers (and friend) wrote:

Reading through your speed limit story reminded me of my dad.  I used to love riding in the car with him and I would always ask him to pass every car on the highway so that we could finish first.  He kept doing that, but there was always a car in front of us especially when he was speeding up.  So after about a half hour of this ghost-chasing, he started asking me if I noticed the landmarks that we were zooming by on the Autobahn.  I kept saying, “nope, nope, nope.”  He finally said to me, “life’s just like our drive.  The more you’re trying to finish first/better/richer/prettier/more attractive/younger etc., the more you come across someone who has already been where you are, but in the process of trying to become all these things, you miss the fact that there is no destination or finish line.  All there is, is living and enjoying.”  So this was a life lesson to me from my dad who passed away when he was younger than me 26 years ago and your blog story inspired me yet again to think of him and honor him in my mind and in my heart.

DK

There’s such wisdom in this beautiful story.  Many of us are in constant pursuit of something…wealth, happiness, a mate, a better or newer car, a raise, a job, a business, more business, a slimmer or fitter body, better health, lost youth, and while improvement and wanting more or wanting change are in our nature as human beings, what if there is no finish line?  What if there is no destination in the way that we’ve come to know it?  What if there’s no hurry to get there?  What if there is no “there” at all?  What if the point of living life is not to get there, or to check off a list of accomplishments under your belt, but rather, to birth desires to flow your energy toward, to breathe life into you, and to receive pure enjoyment from where you stand right now, always on your way to more?  The point isn’t to get it all done, the point is to enjoy the ride along the way because you’re always going to be moving toward something more – some improvement, some change, some more.

I used to think that life was about getting to the finish line.  I used to think that the more I got done the worthier I was.  I used to think that the more productive and accomplished I was the more I’d earned some stars on the chart.

I like getting things done.  I like checking items off my list of things to do today (although I’m not so much about making lists anymore).  I like feeling productive.  But what I enjoy the most is the process on my way. The finished product or the end result is lovely and often inspires great appreciation from me, but it was the fun along the way, the flowing of that energy, that was the most fulfilling of all. 

We recently took a mini-vacation.  The funnest parts were planning it in advance, anticipating its arrival and then enjoying the meaningful and fun moments as we experienced our adventures together.  The funnest part wasn’t “getting it done”.  So it wasn’t the destination that brought me the most pleasure, it was the process.

What if, what makes life meaningful are just a series of meaningful moments? 

 

What if, what makes a happy life is just a series of happy moments?

 

What if life has never been about getting there, or getting it done, or hurrying through something as if where you are is not an important step along the way to where you’re going? 

How many times have you wished that something were different than it is now?  How many times do you just want to skip right over what you’re living now, to get to somewhere else?  How many times do you just wish you were somewhere else, doing something else?  What if now is all you’ve got?  What if, the destination isn’t some far-off end result or not-yet-accomplished goal or desire, but rather, the destination is right here, right now?  Because now…is all you’ve got. 

 

I love receiving comments from my readers and hearing how what I write might inspire a memory, spur a thought, crack a smile, grab a chuckle, invite some clarity, entertain, offer some insight, or summon introspection.  So please, whenever you feel inspired, I’d love your comments.