Life is a Journey Not a Destination

I submit this post in acknowledgement of the deep unhappiness that seems so prevalent in the community that posts to this forum. Since childhood we are so programmed to expect that life has a destination to be obtained or reached that could be labeled as an “absolute state” of arrival ; the fairytale ending that promises “ and they lived happily ever after”. When you come to know that the world you experience is not designed to achieve “absolute” states but instead is a world that provides “relative” experiences of “this or that” … no absolute or permanent state is possible in this life experience. Nature shares this truth observable through seasonal changes, tides of the oceans, sun rises and sunsets, night and day, birth and death. Every aspect cycles through change. Synthesis is fundamental .. a thesis interacting with its opposite of antithesis … this is the creative process of life. You life in every moment is yin and yang, highs and lows. Your personality is driven by chemical processes that transition through multiple states of being from happiness to sadness, anger and peacefulness, indifference to motivation, laziness to energised. Each state of being or emotion in any given moment is allowed and accepted .. neither being right or wrong. This is the animation of life. You would also see that there is also no absolutes in your experiences … there are blessings in every situation as equally as there are adversities. Nothing is perfect. Every relationship has its positives and negatives as does every job or travel experience. There is no “ the grass is greener” on the side of the fence and “you cannot have your cake and eat it to”. When you learn to flow with these cycling and ever changing cycles that life offers it becomes like a roller coaster ride … enjoying the joy and bliss that some experiences offer and wallowing and allowing the deep grief and unhappiness that may appear at other times. Be guided by the knowledge that one cycle is always replaced by another .. you will not dwell in unhappiness or joy forever .. change is behind everything. The great Masters of the East used the symbol of the Yin and Yang to symbolise this flow as well as the mantra “this too shall pass”. It is only when you resist this flow of life’s synthesis that you bring suffering into your life. There is no destination to arrive at only the journey …. “ride the wave”.