SEARCH Journal

WHEN we think of ‘journeys’ we think of movement from point A to point B. A destination is in focus. Yet perhaps the most significant journeys are not the ones of physical movement. Perhaps the most significant journeys are the ones where we move within, in our very selves, the inward journey we all must take. It is a journey of discerning the way in which we are to be, by which I mean the way in which we are to live, to see the world, and to see our embodied-selves. What is the path that guides my understanding, my thoughts, my body, my self? The maps and GPSs we use to get from point A to B are not the real tour guides for our life; nor is climbing the career ladder or the perpetual ‘upgrades’ that perceptually moves us forward in the world’s shallow eyes. The inward journey is the one that undergirds and truly guides any other journey we take. The inward journey and the way we discern is what grants us meaning in life. More importantly, the inward journey is what will help us navigate the hindrances, the roadblocks, the problems, and the suffering we will encounter. And hindrances need not only not be external; internal hindrances within us can arise, such as fear, anger, grief, indifference.