Images by John 'K'

The Journey, originally uploaded by Images by John ‘K’.

I don’t know the origin of the quote “Life is a journey, not a destination”, but it is something that not enough people “get”.

I used the quote in this image to highlight the fact that if you don’t pay attention to what is around you as you go from A to B you miss out on a lot of good stuff that is all around you, but there is more to this quote as you stop and think about it.

For anyone that drives, you’ll know that to be someone that journeys safely, you need to find a balance between watching what is ahead, and keeping an eye on the stuff that is happening off to the sides so that you can react to it if needs be. Good drivers learn to watch for signs that are indicative of possible problems all around them, and are prepared to react accordingly, without being distracted by things that might cause them to rear-end the car in front of them.

Life should be treated like that too, and yet as with many of the drivers on our roads who don’t seem to grasp what they should be doing, many people go through life so focused on a little spot in front of them (personal gratification) that they are oblivious to things around them that will not only help them reach that little spot on the horizon, but that will help those around them too.

We have too many distractions on the road of life that stop us from enjoying the journey. The trick is to work out which of those distractions are important and which should be ignored.

Is the fact that a selfie taken at the Oscars broke Twitter really important? Should you be aware that radiation from the Fukushima disaster is going to hit the California coast in about a month? Do you care that something is wiping out the population of starfish on America’s shores, or are you more concerned that the dance moves of a former child music star are going to damage the morals of our children?

As a society, if we are going to see this shared journey become a memorable experience, and if we are to have any hope of seeing future generations make journeys of their own, we need to make sure we know how to interpret what we see on this journey and react appropriately to the hazards.

That big illuminated billboard with a picture of that nice shiny BMW that you think you’d like to own is a total distraction that stops you from seeing the child that is just about to cross the road in the path of your car. Pay attention to what matters as you make your journey and everyone might actually live to see what is at the destination of their own journeys!