Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “To finish the moment, to find the journey’s end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom.”
Making the journey as interesting as the destination sounds great, and there are some great tips in this article here. Ultimately though, when I think about this article in the context of Emerson’s quote, I wonder if it’s more about who we are in the inside than what we do or see on the outside, that determines whether we succeed at making our journey as interesting. That, and whether or not we are traveling with a baby or small children!
Why, on some days, are we fascinated by the very things which might bore or even annoy us on another day? It’s not the things, it’s us!
For the journey to be as interesting as the destination, we have to start with the one thing that will be with us no matter what — ourselves. Every successful journey outward, or upward — for the more spiritually inclined — begins with at least a bit of a journey inward.
What inner trait could be cultivated to help make the journey as interesting as the destination? Curiosity? Openness to others? The ability to get comfortable with the unexpected?
Try setting aside the same number of minutes thinking about what you bring with you on the inside, as you spend packing your bag for your next trip. It’s all your “stuff”, so you might as well decide what you want to bring and why. Doing that, really can make the journey as interesting as the destination. Or maybe it just helps us appreciate that each stop is a destination. Or maybe that no destination is THE destination. ?And this journey is the wisdom that Emerson reflects upon.
Listed for many years in Newsweek as one of America’s “50 Most Influential Rabbis” and recognized as one of our nation’s leading “Preachers and Teachers,” by Beliefnet.com, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield serves as the President of Clal–The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, a training institute, think tank, and resource center nurturing religious and intellectual pluralism within the Jewish community, and the wider world, preparing people to meet the biggest challenges we face in our increasingly polarized world.
An ordained Orthodox rabbi who studied for his PhD and taught at The Jewish Theological Seminary, he has also taught the University of Pennsylvania, where he directs an ongoing seminar, and American Jewish University. Rabbi Brad regularly teaches and consults for the US Army and United States Department of Defense, religious organizations — Jewish and Christian — including United Seminary (Methodist), Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (Modern Orthodox) Luther Seminary (Lutheran), and The Jewish Theological Seminary (Conservative) — civic organizations including No Labels, Odyssey Impact, and The Aspen Institute, numerous Jewish Federations, and a variety of communal and family foundations.
Hirschfield is the author and editor of numerous books, including You Don’t Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism, writes a column for Religion News Service, and appears regularly on TV and radio in outlets ranging from The Washington Post to Fox News Channel. He is also the founder of the Stand and See Fellowship, which brings hundreds of Christian religious leaders to Israel, preparing them to address the increasing polarization around Middle East issues — and really all currently polarizing issues at home and abroad — with six words, “It’s more complicated than we know.”