.png)
(Photo: Dad, Elizabeth, Lisa, & Tom hiking Cole Mountain, Amherst County, VA)
The Journey:
"Life is a journey, not a destination." HOW are you going?
Recently, I saw a Jeep commercial. It said, “It’s not where you come from but where you go.” For a car commercial, this works great. It encourages you to get out in the world and just go. If you are the type of person who’s always looking for the next adventure and who to go with, then this message probably resonates with you.
“Where you come from” does influence who you are. I’m a mountain girl. When I lived in Virginia, I could almost always see The Blue Ridge Mountains no matter where I was in my hometown. When I moved to Florida, I desperately missed the mountains. Take no offense- Tallahassee is flat. So, I always had this internal desire to see the mountains, as they were always drawing me back home. (Jan. 2023) Now that I've been back home in Virginia for the past 7 months, the presence of the mountains surrounds me and grounds me right here where I am.
We are a community of people, each influenced by our experiences and encounters in life. We build upon these experiences, and they influence us. They often define us. We can choose to let them control us, let them go, or embrace and learn from them.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Life is a journey, not a destination.” The destination is often good. Believe me, I love a 360° view of nothing but mountains at the top of summit. Cole Mountain in Amhesrt, Virginia is my happy place. But what really is important is “HOW you go”. Did you travel alone or with others? Did you remain isolated in your own thoughts, or did you choose to strengthen your relationships and engage in meaningful conversations?
HOW you choose to travel through life is incredibly important. HOW is your attitude? Are you positive and encouraging, or are you grumbling about life’s circumstances? Do you make the best of where you are and what you are doing now? HOW do you interact with others? Do you find the good in every individual and try to connect, or do you find prejudices and separations? HOW do you encounter the world, its resources, and its life? Do you treasure, conserve, and value, or do you waste, disregard, and focus only on your immediate needs and desires?
The mindfulness of yoga in Pranayama and Savasana helps us reflect on our journey: where we are in this present moment and how we choose to interact with the world each and every day.
How we choose to think, act, and maneuver in the world means everything! If we move through life without compassion, understanding, encouragement, and care, then we experience a world of disconnect. We should strive for a journey of awareness and connections. For it is the journey that defines who we are.
HOW are you choosing to go?
Connect with us in yoga:
Commentaires