The Journey

Last Friday at a meeting I was trying to explain something and used the phrase, "It's about the journey, not the destination." A co-worker who was sitting across from me whispered "You mean, the journey IS the destination?" I said "Oh yeah, that's what I meant" but later I started thinking about it. To me, those 2 statements while strikingly similar are not the same.
The journey IS the destination really speaks to me. Its nothing new, its what Ferris Buller told us about stopping to look around once and awhile or John Lennon who said that life is what happens while we are busy making other plans, or my dad's advice to stop and smell the roses. But, it hit me.
I've been struggling lately with getting excited about daily life. I try to remind myself how powerful and refreshing it is to come into contact with someone who is all smiles, and a walking pep talk. I want to adopt more of that. It is not important to get bogged down in the traffic and dishes and other mundane details in life. Isn't it more enjoyable to get excited that its the very first Monday in December! And its 70 degrees and sunny! Lovely weather for walking my favorite canine companion! Because the dishes and traffic and Mondays, that's the journey. So I'm going to turn up the radio when I get caught at the red light and try to remember that the journey is awesome, if we let it be. It doesn't mean I have to become a fake cheerleader for all things dull and routine. But a smile and a gentle reminder that "the journey IS the destination" seem to be just what the doctor ordered.