Thursday, August 4, 2011

Enjoy Life's Journey

I've just come back from traveling to New Zealand. An amazing, mystical, beautiful, awe-inspiring place. But that's for another post.

One of the incredible things that came out of visiting New Zealand was the people I met. One of which gave me the title to this post: Enjoy Life's Journey.

How many of us do just that? Enjoy Life's Journey? How many of us even consider life as a "Journey"?

I'm so happy I went on this trip. I'm so happy that I didn't let things get in the way. I'm happy I didn't worry about the time, or money, or if I should go. I'm happy I just accepted this wonderful opportunity to Enjoy Life's Journey.

And, so, in honor of all those who I met during this trip who took this to heart, I'd like to mention just a few.

-My friend's uncle ... the one who gave me the saying. He has what is called a "life style" property where he has a deer farm. He does this not for profit. Or to feed his family. He does it just because he enjoys it.

-The man I met while trying to hike a glacier. Well ... he was successfully hiking. I was failing. Trying ... but failing nonetheless. He waited for me and kept me company for a while. In striking up a conversation, I found out that he had just gotten married. He and his wife decided to take a year off and travel ... while they could still enjoy it.

-Our bus driver whose family decided to keep the Maori culture alive by creating a pre-European Maori village and sharing their culture with people like me. He kept us entertained by translating Kia Ora in about 60 different languages using a fairly good, if not stereo typical, accent for each. (You should have heard his "sufer-dude" American accent!) He also sang "The Wheels of the Bus" while driving round and round ... and round and round ... the roundabout.

-My friend's father. Although his home had a totally spectacular view, he built an amazing, self-enclosed, mini rainforest. Just because.

And there were more. So many, many more. I consider them all teachers. And I'm so thankful for the lessons they taught me.

Now, I'm passing the lesson onto you. As said so simply and beautifully: Enjoy Life's Journey.