Journeys Are Unique Experiences

Journeys is an amazing shoe store! No, wait…that’s not it. Journey is a great band! Alright, we’re getting closer. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Ok, a bit trite, but it serves the point.

What, exactly, is a journey? Different people define them in different ways — some are geographical in nature (going from one physical location to another physical location), some are spiritual in nature, some are emotional in nature, some are educational in nature — and some combine all the above elements at the same time; however, there are common threads that weave their way through almost every type of journey.

• Every journey must begin somewhere (even if it’s leaving a current journey to start a new journey).

• Every journey changes us in some way (whether we recognize it or not).

• Every journey is unique for the traveler.

• No one journey is better or worse than any other journey.

Journeys are rarely straight lines from point A to point B — they meander, they circle back, they plateau, they change course, they add people to our lives and remove people from our lives, they add things (material possessions, strong emotions, incredible memories, unimaginable pain, etc.) to our lives and remove things from our lives, they frustrate, they enlighten, they cause us to ponder, and they cause us to be invigorated and feel renewed.

During our own human journey, we will cross paths with people on their own human journeys that are very different from ours. We may not agree with the journey they are on or the things they are carrying on their journey. As a matter of fact, it may even frustrate and anger us. However, they may feel the same way about us and our journey. But that’s what makes us human — the ability to embark on a million different journeys in a million different ways with a million different endpoints (some of which will be filled with joy and some filled with sadness).

And every journey is filled with every emotion and every sentiment imaginable. Sometimes all in one day. Hell, sometimes all in 10 minutes. Today, you are excited to be on the journey. Tomorrow, you want off the bus. And that’s ok — that’s also part of the journey. What’s important is to continue our own unique journey forward, one step at a time, in the most human way possible — sometimes stumbling, sometimes exceeding expectation.

Embrace the journey, learn from the journey, grow from the journey, and Don’t Stop Believin’. 😊

Until next week.

Cheers,

Andy

(All written content created the old-fashioned way.)