The Journey

As a diehard perfectionist who can't rest till she gets done whatever it is she needs to get done, I am generally not one for lollygagging. I tend to operate solely in black and white and super straight lines with very little gray areas and even less circuitous routes. Get me from A to Z as fast as possible and let me get on to the next thing! And for heaven's sake, make sure I get exactly what I want in the process! But in all honestly, that's not really how we should be living our lives, is it? It isn't so much the reaching of our destination, but the journey we take in getting there.

I'm an artist by trade. I want to make something beautiful, finish the work and move on to the next big thing. Before I even begin to work on a new piece, I pretty much have an idea of where I'm going with it. Sometimes things go just as I had planned and it feels wonderful, but more often than not I find the work evolving into something different. Maybe not completely different, but different nevertheless. And I don't always like it. Not because it isn't necessarily "good" but because it isn't what I had intended and ultimately it changes my end result completely. In circle or when spell-casting I expect a certain outcome too, but like those paintings on my easel, that expected outcome often isn't how things turn out. Sure, sometimes a cast spell will manifest exactly how I had intended, but how often does that happen? And why not? Because it isn't about the end result. The lessons aren't there waiting for us to catch up with them. The lessons are always found in the process of getting to that end.

It isn't simply about making a beautiful painting with every detail controlled to the nth degree and it also isn't about whether or not that spell I created comes to perfect fruition. And it's the same for everybody else, too. It doesn't matter if we make mistakes or endlessly change our minds. And while it's nice to be fully satisfied with the outcome, it isn't as important as how we've reached that outcome. Granted, being truly happy with where we end up in any undertaking is wonderful, but really, that's just the icing on the cake. It's the letting go of our expectations, our preconceived notions, and really and truly experiencing whatever it is we are doing as we walk this path that matters. We can plan all we want to, but we must also be prepared to accept everything that comes our way: the good, the bad, the devastating, the remarkable and the serendipitous. In learning to let it all happen just as it is meant to, to enjoy the experience of life unfolding before us, is how we learn and grow within ourselves.

Love (or hate) the end result, but cherish every moment of the journey.