If you are not enjoying the journey of life, what is the purpose of your life

I wake up everyday and I am excited. Most people ask me if something has happened to be excited about. Absolutely nothing has happened. Most of the time I wake up and I still looked exactly the way I looked the previous day. Somedays I wake up and I look in the mirror, and realized that there is a little more grey hair that have popped up. And all I can say is …..really?. And I notice that things are changing slowly…the kids have grown, the hair is getting a lot grayer, and things are changing. Then I realize that time has been moving. Life is happening.

I have a lot of things I want to achieve. A long list. I am one of those people who always has a list of things to do. I have a list of 101 things I want to do before I die. I have done some of the things and I keep on adding to the list as I discover new things I did not know before.

One thing I have realized is that some people are consumed with working towards their dream goals; the dream job, dream career, dream car, dream house, dream partner, dream this and that….and they forget to enjoy the process or the journey to get there. I am writing about this because I have seen so many people rush through life to accomplish dream goals and forget to live. Or forget to connect with their loved ones.

I once went to a funeral of a ‘comrade’ in Gqeberha. As in most African funerals, different speakers gave an account of the man that he was. Each speaker talked about how hard-working, dependable and reliable the gentleman was. These were the people who worked with him every day. His family, including his kids had an opportunity to speak. It was a chilling moment when his own kids said they wished they had known him the way people were describing him…..but he was never home. He was always out there working…achieving the dream. His own kids didn’t know him. There was no story from them to tell.

The funeral was a long time ago, but it has stayed with me all these years. Recently, I read the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible. Please, do not judge. You can blame it on Covid-19 boredom. I noticed the number of times the word ‘meaningless’ was mentioned. It was a lot. The whole book talked about the ‘meaninglessness’ of things. One of the examples given was about a rich man who had lived for many years but did not enjoy his life and his riches. The Book compared his life with the life of a stillborn child. To say his life was as meaningless as that of a child who didn’t have time to live. Which also says ‘meaningful’ in life is not about the number of years you were alive.

Meaningless………

My interpretation of this was, we need to enjoy the process and the journey of life. On our way to the dream house, dream car, dream job, dream career, or whatever it is we are dreaming about or working towards, we need to enjoy the process of getting there as much as the destination. We need to enjoy the journey; stop to smell the flowers, help kids or an elderly crossing the road. Enjoy the small things. In case you get to the goal and find that it is meaningless. If you had enjoyed the journey, you will have great memories to share.

Enjoy the small things along the way…..because who knows what you will find on the other side. The beauty of life is that….you don’t really know how it will turn out. If you get there and it is meaningful, then its great. But if you get there and it is meaningless, then you have enjoyed the journey. What we find on the other side is unknown. The future is both unknown and not guaranteed to us. What is guaranteed is this moment.

What we do with this moment is up to us. What you do with your moment is absolutely up to you. You can stop on your way to your dream job, career, life and do something meaningful. Stop and,

Pause…

Breath….

Do nothing….

Connect with loved ones….

Look in the mirror and smile at your reflection….

Be grateful for being alive….

Dance in the rain, if it is raining….

Smell the flowers….

Stop and wait for old people to cross the road even if you have the right of way….

Enjoy the moment…..

And if you are like me, forget the 101 list of dream goals for a few minutes….

Capture this moment. Read this article without rushing to the end. You may get there and find that it is ‘meaningless’. It may also be meaningful to you. If we do not take the time to enjoy the journey of life, we may be disappointed and angry when we get there and it is ‘meaningless’. I am not saying do not dream or do not work towards your goals. I dream and work towards achieving my 101 goals. I am a dreamer myself. But I have also learnt to……..

Enjoy the journey, sometimes I forget…

Enjoy the process, good or bad

Enjoy getting there

Enjoy the moment

Enjoy the small things

Pause

Breath

Smell the flowers

I try to have as many moments to do the above as possible. Sometimes, I forget. The future is unknown and may not be as meaningful as we think it would be. I Have this moment. You have this moment. Have fun! Pause! Breath! Smile! Breath again! And maybe…just maybe do something ‘meaningless’ to you but meaningful to someone else. And REPEAT!