Pleasures of the Journey

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do 

with your one wild and precious life?"

Mary Oliver

Life offers diverse opportunities.  We may change careers, locations, partners, or values and still wonder who or what we will be in this one lifetime.  When I was growing up, many families lived in the same home prior to children, raising children, and remaining into retirement.  Men seemed to be locked into their careers as though it was too great a risk to change midstream.  Family was first and stability a close second.  This does not seem to be true today.  

People, both young and old, tend to change jobs for a variety of reasons.  Relocating does not seem to be a reason to turn down an attractive chance to excel. Retirement for many is a time to try a second career or develop in depth hobbies or extensive travel.

So it would seem to be confining to believe we will have just one plan for our life.  We can set goals or intentions, but we can be very creative with our present moment.  With hindsight, we find some of our incidental activities along the way turn out to be important aspects of a future challenge. 

It is important to have a destination in mind, but this should not distract from the pleasures of the journey at hand.  No matter where we are, we need to enjoy the scenery.