JOY IN THE JOURNEY

If you have ever been discouraged because of failure, please read on. For often, achieving what you set out to do is not the important thing. Let me explain.

Two brothers decided to dig a deep hole behind their house. As they were working, a couple of older boys stopped by to watch. "What are you doing?" asked one of the visitors. "We plan to dig a hole all the way through the earth!" one of the brothers volunteered excitedly.

The older boys began to laugh, telling the younger ones that digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible. After a long silence, one of the diggers picked up a jar full of spiders, worms and a wide assortment of insects. He removed the lid and showed the wonderful contents to the scoffing visitors.

Then he said quietly and confidently, "Even if we don't dig all the way through the earth, look what we found along the way!" Their goal was far too ambitious, but it did cause them to dig. And that is what a goal is for -- to cause us to move in the direction we have chosen; in other words, to set us to digging!

But not every goal will be fully achieved. Not every job will end successfully. Not every relationship will endure. Not every hope will come to pass. Not every love will last. Not every endeavor will be completed. Not every dream will be realized. But when you fall short of your aim, perhaps you can say, "Yes, but look at what I found along the way! Look at the wonderful things which have come into my life because I tried to do something!" It is in the digging that life is lived. And I believe it is joy in the journey, in the end, that truly matters.

For example, as it is with our martial arts training, the goal of attaining Black Belt is a wonderful goal to strive for and everyone has the ability to reach that goal.  However, sometimes when all we can see is our destination point, we fail to enjoy the view and experiences of the journey along the way.  Take the alphabet for yet another example, if we went from A straight to Z, think of the limitations we would have on our language and our vocabulary? 

 

Ever hear the old cliché, don't forget to stop and smell the roses?  There are experiences to be had and memories to be made in each and every minute of our day.  Time does not come back to repeat itself ladies and gentlemen, when the clock ticks that particular second of life is gone forever! 

 

So, my thought for the day is a simple one, enjoy the journey we refer to as life, don't be in such a big hurry to get to the next stop that you fail to enjoy the view along the way of getting there.   Don't be in such a big hurry to say goodnight and shut that light off on your little ones, that you fail to realize they may have a thought of their own or something special and important to them about their day to share with you, or that they want a second hug before you hurry back to the other room to put in that next load of laundry or to see what the news will bring.  I feel I am now rambling a bit, but I sincerely hope everyone understands the point I am trying to make here today.

Enjoy the JOY IN THE JOURNEY!