Journey

J is for Journey.

The bigger story of our lives is constantly being retold is smaller stories every day.

For example, my journey to Laity Lodge was series of steps which I could break down thus:

1. Car ride to Binghamton
2. Bus trip to NYC
   1. First bus to Monticello that broke down
   2. Second bus that safely delivered us to Port Authority

3. 

   Shuttle to LaGuardia

4. Waiting in LaGuardia
5. Flight to Charlotte
6. Hurry through Charlotte airport from one plane directly to the boarding line for the next
7. Flight to San Antonio
8. Shuttle to hotel
9. Night in hotel
10. Ride to car rental agency
11. Meeting up with friends
12. Drive to Laity Lodge
    1. Stop for Texas barbecue
13. Time at Laity Lodge
    1. Rest
    2. Refreshment
    3. Music
    4. Laughter
    5. Solitude
    6. Fellowship
14. Drive back to San Antonio
15. Flight to O’Hare
16. Traversing the tunnels of O’Hare
17. Flight to Syracuse
18. Ride home

Each step has at least one story, complete with plot and interesting characters.

Sometimes I’m running. Sometimes I’m waiting.

Sometimes the bus breaks down or the flight is late.

Sometimes richness surrounds me and I am a partaker in a great feast.

Sometimes desert solitude surrounds me.

Sometimes my companion is a friend who laughs easily and shares their story.

Sometimes my companion is a stranger drinking screwdrivers to soothe the anxiety of flying.

Although I may look back on those four days as one trip, they really were a series of smaller stages, interactions, minutia. High points, low points, tension, and joy.

Peter Guber said it this way:

Every journey that is successful has culs-de-sac and speed bumps. I carry a wisdom gene through my life through the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Life is a journey. I’m glad I like traveling.