Life is a journey 140712

I recently bought a plaque that reads: "Life is a journey, not a destination." I love to travel, so the analogy caught my attention in the store. I have been going through a challenging time in my life and those words provided me a nugget of comfort. It reminded me to stop obsessing over the future and to live in the moment, even if the present moment is painful. Then I thought of this photograph.

The photograph was taken in Panama on a remote island in the Caribbean. The condition of the boat house and pier was reflective of the family's home as well. Despite what we might view as rickety, unusable and quite possibly even dangerous, this is what the family used everyday to get to their source of transportation and lively hood: their boat. So why would the cliche on my newly purchased plaque remind me of this photograph?

Just like these planks, life is not nice and orderly. It consists of individual moments: some level and sturdy, and some upheaved and unsure; some moments are short and others last longer. Life is also not always a straight path, there will be twists and turns in your journey. But go ahead and embrace each moment. Just as trusting to walk on each one of these planks will lead you to something that can take you on a new kind of journey, you can trust that all of life's moments, even those that upheave you, are leading to new opportunities, to new experiences. They are leading you on your life's journey not to its destination.

http://www.thelarigallery.com/photo_panamanian-boat-house_12_243.html