On The Road Again

I've spent a lot of time in my car during the month of April, travelling here and there, short trips and long trips, totalling 2,347kms. (that's about 1,458 miles for my American friends). Fortunately I love driving so it's not quite as bad as it might sound and I know the roads well so I wasn't concerned about getting lost or needing to read directions or a map.

Driving always gives me a sense of freedom and the opportunity to look around both physically and mentally.  It's a break from routine and the chance to see what's going on around me as well as within me.  As I travelled, I noticed changes in the landscape had occurred since I last travelled the route.  Spring had obviously arrived with daffodils blooming at the side of the road and of course, the ever present road work and detours which arrive each spring and stay until late autumn; similar to the migrating birds, only a lot noisier and annoying than the birds could ever be.  Old buildings are gone, new buildings sprouting up all over the place.  What used to be open land is now populated with houses and stores; getting out of the city takes a lot longer simply because the city has grown. So much has changed, yet so much remains the same; different yet familar.

As I drove I contemplated how the changes I saw around me reflected the changes within me.  A lot has changed over the past year.  I've cleared away some of the old (physical stuff, beliefs, emotions) in order to make room for the new things I want in my life.  I don't just mean new physical things, I mean new opportunities, new people, new ideas, new clarity, new understanding.  Like the landscape around me, I too had to clear a place within me in order to accommodate the new.

Clearing the way was a lot like road construction as there were delays and detours along the way.  Though frustrating at times, I learned delays provide the opportunity to take another look or a better look to see what's going rather than just rushing by without a second glance.  Detours take you to different unexpected places, often showing you something you would have otherwise missed completely.   It really is about the journey and not the destination.  Yes, it's important to get where you're going, to reach your goal, however, it's equally important to be flexible enough to realize there's more than one way to get there.  As they say "all roads lead to Rome". 

While my road trips took me many kms. (miles) in different directions, my internal journey did the same.  Within me there is a sense of newness, a feeling of anticipation and excitement for what is developing, a sense of happiness and freedom, and a desire to seek and explore new destinations.

Once again I am reminded that our outer world is a reflection of the world within us.  There is so much to explore in both!