Journey Along a Highway
QUOTE Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything.
~Charles Kuralt It was inevitable that I would get around to writing about "life is a highway," given my not-so-infrequent references to the road less traveled as written in previous bulletins.
I chose the title because of my sincere belief in life as a journey, analogous to a journey along a highway.
I also begin with a quote by Charles Kuralt which pretty much sums up my feelings about the imbalance that exists in society or all around and along the highway we have created for ourselves today.
LIFE ON THE HIGHWAY Our lives as a matter of choice, chance or circumstance, can be described as a journey along a highway.
We began our travels albeit reluctantly, on the day we were born and continue them over the course of our lives until our eventual demise.
During our journey along the highway of life, we seek out, stumble upon, are confronted by, meet and encounter a wide array of experiences, each unique in its own way to our age and stage in life.
The various twists and turns, stops and starts, detours, yields, merges and rights of way, not to mention wrong ways, and of course destinations reached or goals accomplished, all come together to shape us and define who we are at any particular time as we travel on down the highway.
Each experience we have to a lesser or greater extent is likely to have an impact on us either at an emotional, physical, intellectual and/or spiritual level, and contributes, or not, to our growth and development.
Now of course life's journey like a highway journey comes with its share of dangers often in the form of other drivers whose driving we cannot control but whose driving can and often does have a profound impact on our lives.
We can drive defensively, trying to avoid people in our lives who are vexations to the spirit (Desiderata), we can insulate ourselves somewhat from negative outside influences, staying focused on what is important to us, we can proactively move out to prevent perceived potential dangers, assert ourselves in ways that bring us closer to our goals, and of course much more, but know that we cannot anticipate everything that might happen and side-step or prevent it, as we travel along life's highway.
Sometimes these experiences can leave us lost, confused, unsure, unclear, perplexed, disoriented and even at times bewildered.
But it is in moments like these, that opportunities for significant personal growth are possible.
This significantly depends upon how we choose to view our situation as either the often celebrated glass half-full or half-empty.
HITCHHICKERS On the road as in life we often encounter hitchhikers.
Always the question seems to be; do you pick them up or pass them by? Essentially, three things can happen if you go ahead and pick a hitchhiker up.
Your experience of them is likely either going to be a positive growth experience or one that has a detrimental effect on your well-being.
And the third, you come away with the satisfaction of knowing that you extended yourself to another human being and gave them a ride making their lives at least for the moment a little bit easier.
It's kind of like that in life isn't it? We meet a variety of people over the course of our lives, many of whom enrich our existence, others leave us hurting and gasping for breath, and still others make no mark or have any kind of an impact of any consequence.
Of course if you're not willing to "risk it" you will never know and perhaps miss an opportunity for an enriching experience.
COAST TO COAST As stated earlier, I chose the quotation; Thanks to the interstate highway system, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything, because of the imbalance that I believe exists in our society or all around and along the highway we have created for ourselves today.
The Technology Trap To say that modern technology has dramatically changed the way we do things and even perceive ourselves in the world is a gross understatement.
It has had a profound impact on all of our lives with perhaps the exception of those who live in third world countries, but who will at some point in the not-to-distant future close that gap.
We certainly are aware of the many ways in which we have benefited from technological advances and are constantly reminded of them in our daily lives to the point where we now take them for granted.
However, what is less evident is the insidious nature and negative impact that technology has had and continues to have on the physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of our lives.
You do not have to conduct an exhaustive search to find examples of this.
Take our children who are spending inordinate amounts of time connected in some way to a variety of media forms, whether it be; television, computers, mobile devices, or video games.
A recent study found that in the past five years media use has increased to a staggering 71/2 hours a day in children between the ages of 8 and 18.
In swapping actual human contact for these devices children today are in danger of maturing without the proper skills required to successfully navigate through life later on.
Ask your self this question; "Can your child enjoy him/herself - and all those things that aren't online - when away from them? If not as a parent you need to be concerned.
Our emotional and spiritual well-being is dependent upon many things not least of which involves the ability to take time out to contemplate the greater meaning of ones life, "to smell the flowers," within the context and framework of the world and the people in it.
Although it involves an intellectual component or the acquiring of knowledge along the way, it is essentially an exercise in connecting with the emotional and spiritual nature of who you are in relation to your place in the world as you know it.
Not only is this at times a solitary exercise but to be successful at it, involves considerable human interaction with one another live and in person.
It is this human contact and the feelings that come out of it that give us the insight we need to reach our destination and a definition of self, along the highway of life.
I mean, let's face it, when did matters of the heart ever come from a logical or ordered place? The various forms of media require a process or a structure to be effective as an information communicator.
Our efforts to balance out as human being cannot rely entirely on technology.
But it seems we just keep getting further and further away from knowing ourselves through our ever increasing reliance on technology.
FORK IN THE ROAD...
AND...
THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED As for me, well, my story along life's highway has been anything but across the country from coast to coast, straight down the interstate.
In point of fact, many of my early life decisions when facing the proverbial fork-in-the-road, turned out to be wrong for me over the short and long term.
And quite simply the common thread running through all of those wrong decisions was that they were not made with my best interests in mind.
By best interests, I mean right for who I was at the time.
And there was the problem; I did not know who I was when I made those decisions, in other words, I did not have anywhere close to a strong sense of my self or my self worth.
It was more a case of making decisions that I felt would earn me points with the person(s) affected.
And if I perceived myself as successful at getting people to like me, I would feel better about myself.
That approach all by itself turned out to be very short sighted.
It took many a side trip off the highway, down more than one road less traveled to discover who I was and then find the courage to make decisions that were in my best interest from then on, ultimately finding my way to a congruence with who Jim Ladd was.
GROWTH Life on the highway should be about moving forward with your eye on the horizon, but always aware of the surroundings as you move.
Remember it is not so much about a destination as it is about the journey and your willingness to be open to new experiences as they come along.
It is the journey that provides the real growth and with growth comes a greater maturity, wisdom and the ability to get the most from life.
And one more thing, get off the beaten track sometimes to explore, to park and take in your surroundings and even strike out and create a new path.
"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
" Ralph Waldo Emerson
~Charles Kuralt It was inevitable that I would get around to writing about "life is a highway," given my not-so-infrequent references to the road less traveled as written in previous bulletins.
I chose the title because of my sincere belief in life as a journey, analogous to a journey along a highway.
I also begin with a quote by Charles Kuralt which pretty much sums up my feelings about the imbalance that exists in society or all around and along the highway we have created for ourselves today.
LIFE ON THE HIGHWAY Our lives as a matter of choice, chance or circumstance, can be described as a journey along a highway.
We began our travels albeit reluctantly, on the day we were born and continue them over the course of our lives until our eventual demise.
During our journey along the highway of life, we seek out, stumble upon, are confronted by, meet and encounter a wide array of experiences, each unique in its own way to our age and stage in life.
The various twists and turns, stops and starts, detours, yields, merges and rights of way, not to mention wrong ways, and of course destinations reached or goals accomplished, all come together to shape us and define who we are at any particular time as we travel on down the highway.
Each experience we have to a lesser or greater extent is likely to have an impact on us either at an emotional, physical, intellectual and/or spiritual level, and contributes, or not, to our growth and development.
Now of course life's journey like a highway journey comes with its share of dangers often in the form of other drivers whose driving we cannot control but whose driving can and often does have a profound impact on our lives.
We can drive defensively, trying to avoid people in our lives who are vexations to the spirit (Desiderata), we can insulate ourselves somewhat from negative outside influences, staying focused on what is important to us, we can proactively move out to prevent perceived potential dangers, assert ourselves in ways that bring us closer to our goals, and of course much more, but know that we cannot anticipate everything that might happen and side-step or prevent it, as we travel along life's highway.
Sometimes these experiences can leave us lost, confused, unsure, unclear, perplexed, disoriented and even at times bewildered.
But it is in moments like these, that opportunities for significant personal growth are possible.
This significantly depends upon how we choose to view our situation as either the often celebrated glass half-full or half-empty.
HITCHHICKERS On the road as in life we often encounter hitchhikers.
Always the question seems to be; do you pick them up or pass them by? Essentially, three things can happen if you go ahead and pick a hitchhiker up.
Your experience of them is likely either going to be a positive growth experience or one that has a detrimental effect on your well-being.
And the third, you come away with the satisfaction of knowing that you extended yourself to another human being and gave them a ride making their lives at least for the moment a little bit easier.
It's kind of like that in life isn't it? We meet a variety of people over the course of our lives, many of whom enrich our existence, others leave us hurting and gasping for breath, and still others make no mark or have any kind of an impact of any consequence.
Of course if you're not willing to "risk it" you will never know and perhaps miss an opportunity for an enriching experience.
COAST TO COAST As stated earlier, I chose the quotation; Thanks to the interstate highway system, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything, because of the imbalance that I believe exists in our society or all around and along the highway we have created for ourselves today.
The Technology Trap To say that modern technology has dramatically changed the way we do things and even perceive ourselves in the world is a gross understatement.
It has had a profound impact on all of our lives with perhaps the exception of those who live in third world countries, but who will at some point in the not-to-distant future close that gap.
We certainly are aware of the many ways in which we have benefited from technological advances and are constantly reminded of them in our daily lives to the point where we now take them for granted.
However, what is less evident is the insidious nature and negative impact that technology has had and continues to have on the physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of our lives.
You do not have to conduct an exhaustive search to find examples of this.
Take our children who are spending inordinate amounts of time connected in some way to a variety of media forms, whether it be; television, computers, mobile devices, or video games.
A recent study found that in the past five years media use has increased to a staggering 71/2 hours a day in children between the ages of 8 and 18.
In swapping actual human contact for these devices children today are in danger of maturing without the proper skills required to successfully navigate through life later on.
Ask your self this question; "Can your child enjoy him/herself - and all those things that aren't online - when away from them? If not as a parent you need to be concerned.
Our emotional and spiritual well-being is dependent upon many things not least of which involves the ability to take time out to contemplate the greater meaning of ones life, "to smell the flowers," within the context and framework of the world and the people in it.
Although it involves an intellectual component or the acquiring of knowledge along the way, it is essentially an exercise in connecting with the emotional and spiritual nature of who you are in relation to your place in the world as you know it.
Not only is this at times a solitary exercise but to be successful at it, involves considerable human interaction with one another live and in person.
It is this human contact and the feelings that come out of it that give us the insight we need to reach our destination and a definition of self, along the highway of life.
I mean, let's face it, when did matters of the heart ever come from a logical or ordered place? The various forms of media require a process or a structure to be effective as an information communicator.
Our efforts to balance out as human being cannot rely entirely on technology.
But it seems we just keep getting further and further away from knowing ourselves through our ever increasing reliance on technology.
FORK IN THE ROAD...
AND...
THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED As for me, well, my story along life's highway has been anything but across the country from coast to coast, straight down the interstate.
In point of fact, many of my early life decisions when facing the proverbial fork-in-the-road, turned out to be wrong for me over the short and long term.
And quite simply the common thread running through all of those wrong decisions was that they were not made with my best interests in mind.
By best interests, I mean right for who I was at the time.
And there was the problem; I did not know who I was when I made those decisions, in other words, I did not have anywhere close to a strong sense of my self or my self worth.
It was more a case of making decisions that I felt would earn me points with the person(s) affected.
And if I perceived myself as successful at getting people to like me, I would feel better about myself.
That approach all by itself turned out to be very short sighted.
It took many a side trip off the highway, down more than one road less traveled to discover who I was and then find the courage to make decisions that were in my best interest from then on, ultimately finding my way to a congruence with who Jim Ladd was.
GROWTH Life on the highway should be about moving forward with your eye on the horizon, but always aware of the surroundings as you move.
Remember it is not so much about a destination as it is about the journey and your willingness to be open to new experiences as they come along.
It is the journey that provides the real growth and with growth comes a greater maturity, wisdom and the ability to get the most from life.
And one more thing, get off the beaten track sometimes to explore, to park and take in your surroundings and even strike out and create a new path.
"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
" Ralph Waldo Emerson
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