The Road I'm On

Someone said to me the other day, when I asked him what he was looking for:

I don't even know anymore. I guess I'm just gonna follow the road and see where it leads.

Depending on the intention, the road you're on makes all the difference in the world.

If you have a specific destination in mind, with a time frame, the road you take to get there can be the one thing that causes success or failure. You drive to your end point without much observation of what's around you. The focus is the destination and what's going to be experienced when you get there.  You have a predetermined plan and getting there isn't part of the adventure.

If the intention is to enjoy the journey, the road is not such a pivotal player in success or failure.  Whatever road you're on, you find things to enjoy: the view, the curves, the smells, the tastes, the lessons along the way.  You slow down, you look more intentionally at what you're going through; you let yourself escape into the experience of what's happening, you find joy in the surprises, you enjoy the touch of new found places, you look at familiar but different views, you recognize some parts of yourself you'd forgotten existed.  The journey is the adventure.

I love road trips when I may not necessarily know where I'm going to end up.  There have been times when I've found exactly what's perfect for me at the end of those road trips.  There are other times where I'm so focused on the destination and getting where I'm going, that I forget to enjoy the process of getting there.

I'm choosing to stay on the road I'm on.  I'm choosing to have a destination in mind and still stay on this road with all of its curves and lessons and views. I'm choosing to know where I want to go and still let the road unfold before me. I have no idea where this road will lead or if I'll find what's right for me at the end of it.  But the journey is amazing, the views spectacular, the smells enticing and the unknown keeps drawing me further down the road.

Wherever the road ends, I'm enjoying the journey.  Learning to balance having a destination in mind while not forgetting that the route of getting there is as powerful as arriving.