Axioms…from my perspective

i dedicate thursdays to giving some of my personal life axioms…truth that, from my perspective, is self-evident. sometimes practical. sometimes philosophical. sometimes whimsical. but truth, no less.

“drive slow.  it’s the only way to really enjoy the journey.”

this is what we call a metaphor. 

we live in a world that is moving fast and growing faster every day.   if we are ever going to fully absorb the joy of life and dive deeper into the lives of people…and even have a chance at really experiencing the presence of god, we’ve just go to slow down.

when it comes to travel, there are really two types of people in life.  i like to call them destination people and journey people.

what that means is that there are those folks that are focused on getting to the destination…people who are obsessed with “arriving” and find their meaning in reaching the goal as quickly as possible.  they don’t rest until they have achieved what they have set out to do and the experience of getting to the finish line is merely the means to an end.

journey people are different.  although they care about goals and ends and finish lines, they don’t find their meaning and purpose at the destination…they find it all along the way.  journey people live for the experience and find joy in the traveling.  it’s simply a different way to live.

i’m a journey person.  i advocate it for everyone.  i realize it’s probably good that we have some people that are driven and consumed with success and growth and destination and goals.  the fact is, without those people, life would probably look a whole lot different.  i’m just glad i’m not one of those people!

i have goals.  the end product is always important.  the point of the journey is to get there, for crying out loud.  i just want my voice of reason to be heard.  how we get to the goal is just as important (and maybe more important) than actually getting there.

when we are consumed with getting there, we have this tendancy to miss what god has for us to see and experience along the way.  it is in the practice of the journey that god changes us and molds us and makes us into the people he wants us to be.  don’t miss it!

past the metaphor, there’s some hard-core reality in this axiom.  i’ll admit it…i’m a slow driver for real.  driving slower  keeps me from wasting my money paying speeding tickets.  i spend less money on gas because i never “gun it” on the take off and i always gear down and brake slowly to limit the wear and tear on my brakes.  (we’ve gone over 65,000 miles since our last brake job!).

driving slower allows me to be more aware of fools, idiots, brainless children and people talking or texting on their cell phones.  it slows my heart rate down.  i never panic.  i enjoy the ride and and seldom have a need to pay people back for ruining my trip.

(for the record, i only drive slower than the speed limit when there are multiple lanes and lanes for local nascar drivers to pass…so save your smug judgment!)

so whether you ride with me in my jeep or walk with me along life’s journey, be prepared to go a little slower.  it will be good for you.

#destination #driving #journey