A Trip or a Journey
Recently, I was reading a review of a book written by a man who, apparently, was basically recounting some of his childhood memories. Specifically, the memories dealt with a family tradition of loading up in a station wagon and taking off for a vacation destination. A combination of the high cost of flying, the size of the family, and the family’s financial status made traveling by road more economical and sensible than traveling by air.
That changed as the years went by. According to the review I read, “Flying became so cheap that eventually even [the father] springs for a vacation by air.”
What I found most interesting about the review was a quote by the author of the book about this change from driving to flying:
We’d taken a trip, but we’d made no journey. And somehow it felt as though we hadn’t earned the right to enjoy our final destination.
As I read those words, I wondered if they could describe more than one man’s memories of his family’s vacations. I wondered if they could describe the lives of many of us.
We live in a society in which we are told that it is important to be goal-oriented. Often those goals focus on financial security, social status, educational achievements, etc. I’m wondering how many people have reached those goals but have overlooked something much more important.
Even though I have read only the review of the book and not the book itself, I believe that the author was pointing to some “essential ingredients” that might make a difference between a trip and a journey. Two of those ingredients are relationships and memories.
In my opinion, there is at least one more “essential ingredient” in order to have a journey. It takes time to form the relationships and make the memories that make a journey something to be enjoyed.
This post is not meant to be a review of a review. It is meant to make some application about life itself.
As I look back on my almost seven decades of living, I wonder if I have taken the time needed in order to form real and lasting relationships. I wonder if I’ve taken the time to have significant and positive memories of times spent with people. I wonder if their memories are significant and positive.
I guess I’m wondering if my life can be characterized as a trip or a journey.
How about you? Are you on a trip or a journey?
To Receive Every Article from A Legacy of Faith through Email for Free, Click Here
AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
