Travelling hopefully

My last blog post leads neatly on to one that I promised earlier, in response to the favourite question “When will you be better?”

“It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive” as someone once said.  I recently read a post by Max at It’s about the Journey and thought that the following quote from that post says it all, although in a different context:

“You see them everywhere you go, people in a hurry to get somewhere. Gotta get to work, gotta get to the store, gotta get a career, gotta get a family, gotta get that promotion, gotta get there now. Not that having goals isn’t a good idea, I’ve got goals for the next few years, I’ve got goals for retirement (#1 – pay off the house). Goals are good, but you see and hear people so obsessed with the goal that they’re missing the trip getting there.”

Friends, acquaintances and even some of my family occasionally talk as if my life isn’t worth living until I’m better. They look at me sorrowfully as if to say ‘you poor thing, how ARE you coping with this non-life you are forced to live’. Quite well, thank you!

The only way to approach my current predicament without going insane is to treat it as a journey of exploration; of discovering different feelings, inner strengths, priorities, pleasures such as sitting in the sun reading a book for 2 hours... Life hasn’t stopped for a few months: I’m working, I’m studying, I’m doing the aforementioned sitting in the sun; I’m seeing friends more and have forged a stronger connection with my family; I'm spending quality time with the dog. All good stuff.

So in response to that original question, I am tempted to say: "Why does it matter?"

I am travelling hopefully.