Life Is A Journey Not A Destination

5/10/2013 11:25 am                              Life Is A Journey Not A Destination

So I’m supposed to have been in the air ten minutes now however I’m not.  According to the airline Chicago will not let them take off and we will not take off until Noon.  This means I arrive in Chicago just about the time my plan to England takes off.  The lady at the counter gives me and assuring look and tells me it will be delayed also.  And so my adventure begins with breakfast at an airport restaurant that cannot make toast and has nothing on the menu that does not contain meat.  Now I have to wait until I get to Chicago to see if there is a connecting flight.  “They will take good care of you if miss your flight.”  I don’t want to be taken care of I want to get to England.  I’m having a Stella!  Oh my God someone who resembles Lucy Lu just walked in.  Looking at her takes my mind of Plane delays for a bit anyhow.

Everyone wants to know what my itinerary is this year.  Well I’m going to Dublin, hopefully at some point, then on to Salisbury.  I’ll be a steward at the Salisbury International Arts Festival again this year before heading off to points unknown.  Those points way include France, Spain, Austria or none of the above.  I just don’t know at this point what I want to do.  I’ve been thinking about doing a bike ride from Salisbury to Canterbury which would be about a five day ride.  It would go to Winchester, the original seat of power in England before moving to London.  Then riding through green rolling hills, small towns, and narrow back roads accompanied by the signing birds and most likely some rain.  Along this route is Pocahontas’s grave, a castles and of course pubs.

My newest position at the college is teaching a cognitive restructuring course at the Coconino County Jail.  The last thing we discussed was “Life is a Journey not a Destination.”  I think that I’m going to incorporated this into the course in order to get the participants to look at the bigger picture.  My friend Gary and I have talked quite a bit about missing what is happening around you by being focused on, or waiting for something down the road to make us happy or give us a better life.  That’s the destination and while doing that we miss out on all the things that could offer so much if we paid attention.  Recently I suggested a possible side trip of a steam train ride up a mountain to the town on top to a fellow traveler.  The response was “what is there?”  It was not about what is there it is about all the wonders along the way.

That being the case I don’t want to get lost in the destination.  For me this means returning to my original model of picking out an end point then enjoying the route whatever that maybe to get there.  Once there it will be time to look around at a place I’ve never been and enjoying the end point as part of the journey.  Or if it is a place I’ve been before look around to see what I did not the last time there.  Now that being said I’m going to “lose the attitude old man” and enjoy the journey.   I have a nice seatmate; a fairly nice ride and will arrived in Chicago approximately and hour late.  My connection to Heathrow may or may not have left that remains to be seen.  Not sure when, how or if I’ll arrived in Europe this year and the journey sure will be interesting.  I am so use to getting on the plane making my connections and getting off in England that I’m spoiled.  We are heading down in to Chicago more later.

After leaving the plane I’m informed that the plane to Heathrow is at gate K12.  Off I go down the concourse to find my gate and hopefully there will be a plane waiting.  On the way I glance at the flight board and notice there is a plane a gate K6 bound for Dublin which is currently boarding.  As I walk past gate K6 I see that all are boarding and there is a last call.  I stop and walk back to the counter and ask the attendant if I could ask a “stupid question?”  I explain show him my boarding passes and he says “that plane is already left.  We’ll put you on this one.”  This is a direct flight to Dublin with no need to stop at Heathrow and change planes.  No extra money just here’s your boarding pass on you go.  I’m the last one to board the plane and low and behold I have two seats all to myself.

Dinner and two wines later it’s time to get some rest.  I’m a happy camper God has taught me yet again to just trust.  Stop trying to control and trust that all will be taken care of.  More tomorrow in Dublin which is boasting a high of 44.