My very wise Aussie mum, Tammy, first introduced me to this idea last year when talking about plane journeys. Of course the 22ish hour plane journey to Australia is what puts some people off visiting - and boy it sounds oh so horrendous. However, I recall Tammy expressing something along the lines of, "yeah but it's hours of being allowed to sit and eat plane food (which I flipping love I'll have you know!) and watch movies, how could that get much better?" In our very busy society, we surely should value the times when we have nothing but movies, food (and potentially friends/family, games, books etc. too!) to accompany us?
And it got me thinking didn't it - and I've been mulling over it ever since (dramatic right!).
What do I mean by "destination"? I mean anything. Whether it is literally that plane journey to another country, or reaching that 16/18/21 etc. age bracket, the achievement of the 3 pound weight loss, the Friday evening no-work-all-weekend feeling, etc. (I could go on and on but I won't bore you).
We live in a microwave (says mum) society - as in, consumeristic society where we want results NOW. And we want results faster. We want our food microwavable in 90 seconds. We want to look noticeably more toned after that one-off session at the gym. We want that gorgeously sun-kissed tan after just an hour of two in the sun.
And believe me, I know this mentality all too well. So many times I've been so focused on that end goal (which is by no means a terrible way of being) - however, I think there's then the danger of by-passing the joy of the present; the joy of the journey.
The 'present'; a gift.
I think the secret, or a potential secret to overcoming this 'issue' is gratitude. There is great power in thankfulness, it helps to create a positive mind-set.
Instead of seeing the crappy stuff of the 'journey', and longing for the destination, we start to appreciate and recognise the gifts of the present.
We start to see with fresh eyes; with a new lens; into a new dimension.
So I've put gratitude on my 2015 to-do list (yes, yes I made a list and I would very much recommend doing so - I like lists) - the aim is to journal 3 things a day that I am thankful for - let's see how that goes shall we!
This is my challenge to you.
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes"
I'll keep you posted.
love hearing your heart keep sharing ...miss you heaps xxx
ReplyDeleteI didn't realise how many positive things we are actually given in our journey of life.
ReplyDeleteRecently I have been praying to God (from inspiration from this post), mainly saying thanks for giving me a life and giving me the precious people I have in it.
Since then I have woken up happier and felt more relaxed in myself.
I didn't realise the beauty of the journey (I don't want it to end!) I am greatful for this post as it has made me appreciate the life changing journey I am on with God and how much I prefer to have a happy journey with the destination being uncertain or a long way off rather than a journey that feels like a waist of time and feels filled with hopelessness and impatient thoughts about wether God will ever listen to my asking prayers and bring me closer to him.
As a result I believe God will give us all a good destination but an even better journey but you have to thank him (rather than ask him) for little positive things that occur along the journey for it to be filled with happiness and full of Gods undevoted love and communication with you. Thank you again Jessie for this post :)