Life is a journey, not an event. Focusing on staying in the moment.  

You shall no longer take things at second or third hand, nor look through the eyes of the dead, nor feed on the spectres in books, you shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me, you shall listen to all sides and filter them from your self. — Walt Whitman (a passage from ‘Song of Myself’)

I know I have the best of time and space, and was never measured and never will be measured.
I tramp a perpetual journey, (come listen all!)
My signs are a rain-proof coat, good shoes, and a staff cut from the woods,
No friend of mine takes his ease in my chair,
I have no chair, no church, no philosophy,
I lead no man to a dinner-table, library, exchange,
But each man and each woman of you I lead upon a knoll,
My left hand hooking you round the waist,
My right hand pointing to landscapes of continents and the public road.
Not I, not any one else can travel that road for you,
You must travel it for yourself.  — Walt Whitman (a passage from ‘Leaves of Grass’)

Life is a Journey. Birth is a beginning and death a destination. From childhood to maturity. And youth to age; from innocence to awareness, and from ignorance to knowing. From foolishness to discretion. And then perhaps to wisdom. — R. Alvin Fine

No one talks of journey better than Walt Whitman. While not everyone is a poet, they are worthy of inclusion in my musing. In consideration that I am not a poet and this is not a literary assessment, I proceeded with this musing as one that I could better relate, even if only in the shadows of a great master.

The idea put forth by R. Fine, Life is a Journey, is one I can better relate. The poem promotes the idea that taking a wrong turn, failure, success, highs, lows, are all just a part of the journey of life. It is one that I find to be healthy and mature, and quite frankly more suitable for a short reflection. It is also an idea that I have not fully mastered or appreciated in the past.

I ask myself this question a lot: can I strive to fully internalize that each and every day is a part of my life’s story? My narrative. Can I integrate it with my ancestral roots? Among my many theories, some constantly changing, I am always learning, and evolving. I love what Tony Robbins calls it – “CANI”: Constant And Never-ending Improvement.

A theory in progress — everyone in the world is truly an “expert” in one thing: their life’s story. If that is the case, it seems to make sense since they are the only person who has witnessed their entire existence. If I can understand my journey, will it help me give everyone I meet the benefit of the doubt and learn about their character?  The entirety of R. Fine’s poem goes like this.

Life is a Journey

Birth is a beginning
And death a destination
And life is a journey:
From childhood to maturity
And youth to age;
From innocence to awareness
And ignorance to knowing;
From foolishness to discretion
And then perhaps to wisdom.

From weakness to strength or
From strength to weakness
And often back again;
From health to sickness,
And we pray to health again.

From offence to forgiveness,
From loneliness to love,
From joy to gratitude,
From pain to compassion,
From grief to understanding,
From fear to faith.

From defeat to defeat to defeat
Until, not looking backwards or ahead,
We see that victory lies not
At some high point along the way
But in having made the journey
Step by step,
A sacred pilgrimage.
Birth is a beginning
And death a destination
And life is a journey.

It seems to me, if I view life this way —as a journey, it is easier for me to cut myself some slack as well as give others some slack, too. It allows me to be easier on myself and to view the things that didn’t go right —as learning experiences. 

The purpose of a wilderness journey is not to get from one end of the trail to the other, but to enjoy the landscape, and adapt to its ever-changing moods.

Bill Mason

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Walt Whitman an an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse.[1] His work was controversial in its time, particularly his 1855 poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sensuality. 

Alvin Fine was the Rabbi of Emanu-El Reform synagogue, then served for 15 years as a professor of humanities at San Francisco State University.