The Long Road Home

The path to the Tao begins right under your feet.

Tao Te Ching

It has been said by sages and rascals alike, since the beginning of time, that Life is a journey. Yet we are taught from our earliest moments; by teachers, parents and religious authorities, that Life is not about the journey, but instead about a destination. This destination is always, they say, in some future place and time, where we will 'find' the peace, happiness and joy that our hearts long for. In fact, this destination may not even be available in this life at all, but instead will be found after we die and go to 'heaven', where everything will be love and light forever and ever, amen.

Yet, what if our lives really are just a journey? A journey without a destination; not about finding something in the future, but about enjoying and appreciating the step we are taking right now? What if we were to listen to the Truth of our own hearts; actually "seeing' where we are right now, and appreciating what we are doing in the present moment? What we might discover is that Life is always delivering the exact lessons that we need at this moment, in order for us to let go of our constant worry and planning for a future that never comes.

When we return our focus to what is unfolding here and now, we find that we are better able to handle whatever challenges we may go through, and truly find joy in the ordinary, everyday unfolding of our precious life. When our focus is 'here' rather than over 'there', we begin to awaken from our dream that our lives are about a destination where everything will be easy and work out the way our minds think it should. Instead, we realize that the path of this life constantly delivers us back to the step we are taking right now, with full joy and happiness in the way things are. The long road home is just a circle that delivers us back to where we began, over and over; back to the present moment, back to the path right under our feet.