You may find yourself on the same path as many others however, that doesn’t mean you’re heading for the same destination.  What matters most is that you determine what  your own destination will be and never forget to enjoy the ride!

I overheard someone talking the other day about how disappointed they were in the progress of their career in comparison to others. They couldn’t understand why after several years on the same path they didn’t have the same job title or status as those with similar education and experience. I thought that was rather odd.  The conversation then triggered my memory of my childhood road trips.

Every year our family embarked on a long road trip to visit grandma and grandpa (in a station wagon with wood paneling no less).  It was a trip that took us far, far away; starting point, Detroit, Michigan, destination, Hendersonville, North Carolina.  Okay, to a small child it was far, far away and what seemed like days (real time somewhere around 12 hours) spent in the car certainly added to the grand illusion of such.

For me, as a child, these trips were carefree yet adventurous, exciting and familiar yet unknowing, all wrapped up in a magical blanket (and pillow if you were a smart packer) to keep you warm in the twilight hours of the journey.  Equipped with a cooler full of sandwiches, snacks and beverages our mom prepared the night prior to departure (while we said farewell to our friends); we certainly had it made!

As many road trips seem to start, ours always did before the sun had a chance to rise.  For me, that in itself was most exciting.  While everyone else was still asleep in our neighborhood we all slumbered slowly out of bed and crawled into our car with eyes half opened and pillows in tow. We whispered while we realigned ourselves from beds to car seats and seldom complained about the disruption of sleep.

And in no time (meaning the click of the gear shifter going into reverse) all my siblings were back in full swing of sawing logs.  Not me though.  For some reason I was never able to fall asleep in the car…I was too excited.  I didn’t want to miss a thing.

Things were different riding in a car during twilight hours.  Street lights cycled differently, some blinked, some didn’t even change, while others just seemed lonely.  Houses and buildings were dark but every once in a while you’d see a lit window.

Entire neighborhoods and city blocks took on an unusually peaceful yet eerie feeling.  Everything was quiet in a very strange way; everything was quiet except for the hum of the tires making time on the road.  This was an interesting rhythmic sound one only hears while traveling in the back seat of a car during the wee hours of the morning (or during the very late hours of night).

I could ramble on and on about all the details of a childhood road trip (though I think I already have) that added up to extraordinary memories but it was during those twilight hours that I was most captivated with wonder and excitement. That’s because among the dark and sleepy landscape there were a handful of other cars sharing the same highway (or path) our car was traveling on…quietly driving along side of us, some behind and a few ahead of us; automobile wingmen – secret agents of the twilight hours seemingly on the same mission. This is where my curiosity shifted from dark buildings and dreaming houses to the intentions and destinations of the other co-twilight travelers.

Where were they coming from and where were they going at this time of day.  Surely they can’t all be on vacation…heading to Hendersonville like us.  Yet there we all were together, traveling on the same path.  Everyone seemed to be driving to the same destination as us but as curious as I was about their trips and where they were going I knew they obviously had different destination plans…which was fine by me because none of that had anything to do with our trip.

And I was correct of course because in all the trips we took not one of those other travelers accompanied us from Detroit all the way to grandma and grandpa’s house. No matter how long they seemed to tag along on the same road they never traveled all the way with us. No, grandma and grandpa’s house was our destination!

So now you might see why that conversation sparked these memories for me.  I think one can certainly compare a road trip to a career path.  Just as a road trip, in life we need not worry about where everyone else is planning on going.  And we certainly shouldn’t wonder why we didn’t get on or off  the same exits or why it might be taking us a little longer to get from point A to point B than others either.  We have to remember this is a trip to our destination.

I don’t even think the universe could efficiently support the notion of everyone going to the same place at the same time.  Imagine if all those cars ended up with our family at grandma and grandpa’s house?  They certainly would not have have been prepared for such a crowd.  And I know for a fact they wouldn’t have enough food.

It’s just crazy to think all drivers on the same highway, going in the same direction are all heading to the exact same destination so why would we think the same about people who seem to be on the same career path as us?

With that being said, I think we should all travel in life more like a station wagon filled with children heading out on a road trip.  We should be more focused on the adventure and excitement of the trip and the path we’re on.  We should relish in the thought of seeing something new along the way without ever once comparing ourselves to the cars on the road next to us. Who cares how many stops along the way we need to take?  And detours (like career changes) are merely adjunct adventures waiting to happen.   So pack a pillow and your favorite snacks but know if you run out there are plenty of food exits along the way.

And if you ever find yourself comparing your life to those around you, pull over immediately at a mental rest stop so you can remind yourself this;  although it seems we are sharing the same path as others we have our own destination, one that is determined by our individual passions, desire and drive.  Yes, we may be on the same paths for now but we are not necessarily on the same trip.

What matters most is that you determine what  your own destination will be and never forget to enjoy the ride!

~The Urban Mountaineer

 

You may find yourself on the same path as many others however, that doesn’t mean you’re heading for the same destination.  What matters most is that you determine what  your own destination will be and never forget to enjoy the ride!

~The Urban Mountaineer