Talk About the Journey

“Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.” – Helen Keller

Most people only want to hear about the goal, not how you got there. I am guilty of this to. We want to hear about the accomplishments of other people. However, we are uninterested in the journey it took for them to get there. We need to talk more about the journey. The journey is where our growth as people happens. It’s going through the journey that changes us. I just finished reading the book “Undaunted Courage” by Stephen E. Ambrose. It follows the journey of Lewis and Clark’s expedition through the recently purchases Louisiana Territory to the Pacific Ocean. It uses the journals of the two men, others who went on the expedition, and the writings of Thomas Jefferson. It’s amazing how little of the book focuses on that moment. The emphasis is less on when they reach the Pacific compared to the journey to get there. The book focuses on their challenges getting to the west. It also highlights their interactions with Native Americans along the way. It’s a great book that talks about the lives of the two men before and after their adventure. We spend the most time working towards are goals as opposed to reaching. We should discuss the journey to show the difficulties we faced. This discussion encourages others going through similar experiences. The journey is the story worth sharing.

Last summer, I saw one of the most incredible sights that I had ever seen. I saw a humpback whale in the wild, breaching the water. Seeing these majestic creature up close was a sight to behold. We didn’t arrive in Sitka, Alaska in one day from Charlotte, North Carolina. It took months of planning, saving, and organizing to get there. People think that we just wrote one massive check to make this trip happen. However, it takes more than that. We have always tried to be wise with our money, saving it for when the right opportunity comes up. We start planning our trips months in advance, sometimes even a year. We align our trip dates with the school calendar. This way, we don’t miss work, and our kids don’t miss school. It was all worth it, to see these amazing animals in person.