The Journey Through Life

The Journey Through Life--


We arrive on this planet helpless and needy.  We are tyrants.  We want what we want now.  It is the way we all begin our lives.  Hopefully, there are loving, caring adults who take care of our needs and wants.  In a perfect world we would all have loving families, warm homes and enough food.

Our journey begins the moment we take that first breath.  We soak up everything.  Every sound, every smell, everything we touch, every taste and everything we see.  We are sponges bringing the moisture of life into ourselves.  We learn what brings us pleasure and what to avoid.

We learn the faces of those who spend time with us.  And we develop relationships with those who care for us.  We know where to go for food when we are hungry.  We know who will hold us anytime.  We know who will laugh with us and play with us.  We learn all of this in such a very small amount of time.

By the time we reach pre-school and kindergarten we are on a new piece of our  journey.  We have had four or five years of experiences.  All those experiences will help shape our adult lives.

If there is a message I want to convey to adults, it is this.  Do not underestimate the importance you play in the development of the young children in your lives.  Think long and hard about the way you talk to children.  They imitate.  You will hear yourself in them.  Sometimes that is a good thing.  Sometimes not.  You bring your values to them.  They will learn from you what is right and what is not.  They will think of others in the same way you think of others.  Your role in their lives is the most important one they will have.

Yes, school teachers will help take them to the next level.  But, you are the ones who prepare them for life.

Our journey continues beyond school.  We make decisions about careers.  We select the person who will share our life.  Or the persons!  We watch the years go by--slowly at first and then with rapid speed.  We see ourselves changing.  Our appearance moves from young and fresh to more mature with a few bags under the eyes.  Lines on the face give away our life experiences.

And then we find ourselves moving toward the last years on this planet.  We look back over our journey and pronounce it good or lacking.  I suppose all our lives lack a few things, but it is my hope that we can look back and say it was pretty darn good.

We journey.  Each day.  Every minute.  It never stops.  We can't get off the train.  It continues.  That is why it is important for each of us to find those things that bring the most to our lives and to the lives of others.  It is important we reach out beyond ourselves.  It is important that we celebrate our spot.  We are only here for a little while.  Yet, it is enough.

Where will your journey take you?