Our lives are our own unique journey.
We may journey far from where we start out, or we might stick close to home. Neither is better or worse, but we do learn a lot on our journeys. Whether we choose to take Sisyphus’ route and hope that sheer persistence is enough or you choose to adapt and reflect and iterate, end of the day it’s your choice.
As on any journey, we need to take things, whether physical, emotional, spiritual, worries, you name it. We start out in our lives with nothing to carry, and nothing to put things in. We are wholly dependant on our parents and their capacity.
This sets us up for a different experience as some parents don’t have that much to carry, some have a lot to carry.
Some families have only a small backpack. Others may have a trailer, seemingly able to carry everything.
The good thing is that we’re not limited by our parents capacities; As we grow up, we start to weave our own containers, starting as a small basket to place the things that are important to us, the things we worry about and dream to one day achieve, gradually upgrading as needed. It happens so gradually that we don’t even notice it.
We find more responsibilities and more things we find important. We may also have setbacks; maybe a hole develops in our basket, we trip over a branch crossing our path.
We COULD sit on the ground and scream about how it’s unfair, or we could choose to take the opportunity to learn from mistakes, learn to repair what we break. Or you could always continue on your way with an un-mended backpack, chasing the items that go astray during your journey.
And sometimes, we might have a perfectly functional backpack, but we don’t like the color or we’ve outgrown the style, and we have and get a whole new one. Your backpack might just no longer suit who you have become on your journey.
Now what happens if your backpack is stolen (traumatic events have a way of doing that), we have to seemingly start fresh in weaving a new backpack, or chase down the thief.
The good thing is we’ve done this before and we know techniques that have and have not worked, and it’s a chance to build the backpack you actually want. It could be a chance to stand up for what you’ve worked so hard for.
As we grow and find more things that are important we have a NEED for a bigger backpack, and to find people who will help you on the journey. The good thing about journeying together is that you can share resources and responsibilities. You don’t need to have two stoves, you can cook your meals together.
It’s important to remember that everyone else has their own backpack to manage too; if we take on too much we’ll be crushed by the weight and drag down those who try to save us. The same goes for others; we can’t save anyone from the weight of their own backpack if they’re not willing to look at it critically themselves, but we can help.
We just can’t neglect our own journey and our things of importance.
If you carry a lot, you will need to find an ergonomic backpack that is durable enough to withstand every challenge you face and find a pace that doesn’t tire you out or you’ll become fatigued. You will need to find people who match the pace you’re walking and are heading in the same directions, and are okay with your baggage.
If you prefer to travel light, you need a lightweight backpack and to be able to critically look at what you’re carrying and make some hard decisions. Your team will also be relatively light on their feet, or there will be circling back. That works too.
The important thing is that it is YOUR journey, with YOUR team. You can love home, while loving travelling and adventuring too. They’re not a mutually exclusive love.
If we can come together to support each other, collaborate instead of compete, we will all be able to enjoy the views from our journey.
If we don’t, it’s just a matter of time before there’s no one and no where to journey with.
