Enjoy the journey

How often have you jumped in your car packed to the brim with suitcases and personal items ready to hit the road on a vacation or weekend getaway.

Probably more than once right?  As you think back to those times can you recall what the driving focus of that was?

Was it the fun that you were going to have on the way playing eye spy or making up names of number plates?

Was it the excitement of stopping at new places along the way and exploring what icons those places had?

Was it an opportunity for you to let you mind wander over all of your achievements up to this point?

Did you take the opportunity to while travelling to listen to your favourite author on audio? 

For many of us the answers to all of the above would be No, No, No and No.

We become so focused in life with where we want to be that we completely miss the opportunity to appreciate and experience where we are right now.

Our lives are a perpetual moving forward motion of action that rarely has the chance to stand still and take in all that is already around you.

If you are in a career and you are wanting to advance in that position is your focus on how you can become the best at what you are doing now as a way of fulfilling your own personal growth or is it merely a means to an end? 

When you get to that end do you think that you will be as fully prepared and equipped to fulfil the role as someone who has spent the time embracing every aspect of their role leading up to the advanced position? 

When an athlete spends all of their time focusing on winning the gold medal, puts in all of the hours the blood sweat and tears do you think when they are standing on that podium that they are feeling a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation for where their life has led them or are they thinking wow my whole life has been just for this moment and now that its here what have I actually done with my life?

While that may seem an extreme example how can you relate this to your own life? 

I know just for myself recently my whole focus in the month leading up to my trip to Canada was about making sure that the wheels on my business kept on turning while I was away. 

Now this was great as it allowed me to go away and spend quality time with my sister and not worry however I can 100% say that I was not here at all for my family in that lead up.

I also placed myself under a great deal of pressure to complete all that I needed to get done.

My head was so focused on what needed to get done before I sat on that plane that I wasn’t really fully experiencing any of the encounters or enjoying my experiences as fully as I could have been.

When we are fully present in the tasks that we are undertaking, when we focus the enjoyment of it then the outcome of the task will be far more enriched due to the attention that you have given to it.

When a flower begins to bloom it is not rushing to have all of its petals fully expanded, it is revealing in the joy of the sun shining on it, it is revealing in the expansion of its growth as its petals gently open to fully receive the warmth and life giving force of the sun.

I have been walking every day since my return home and I am loving that my focus is on the sounds of the birds that I can hear, the sun on my face, the blue skies the smell of the trees, the occasional swooping magpie and the exhilaration of moving my body. 

My focus is not on where I am going or how far I am walking I am fully immersing myself in the experience.

When you begin an art creation is the pleasure in knowing what the final outcome will be or do you draw your joy from the state that you place yourself into to create your art.

When your favourite song comes on the radio you don’t sit there waiting for the end of it, you most likely sing along and feel your spirit soar as you lose yourself in the music.

Life moves so very quickly with all of our deadlines, our to do lists and our technologies. 

If all that we ever do is focus on where we are going to next then one day our next is going to be the end of the line and you will be left wondering where the hell it all went. 

Take time to be fully present with all that you do. That means when you are having a conversation with someone really look at them and hear what it is that they are saying.

We all too often spend these moments thinking of our replies. 

The next time that your child asks you to read to them, really immerse yourself into the characters and cherish these moments that will be gone all too quickly.

The next time that you go for a walk, really feel the movement and power of your body as there will come a day when taking a walk may no longer be an option.

Living your life as fully as you can is allowing yourself to focus on what is happening right here right now.

Goals and dreams are great and we all have them, but without the journey along the way the goals and dreams can never be reached. 

The journey is really the unsung hero of our lives, filled with so many incredible encounters, learnings, and experiences that without the destination would not be as sweet. 

Blessings
Kerryn
xxx

Leave a comment