I’m sure many of you cringed at the title of this blog. Even I cringed when writing it because I know how cliché it seems. However, after scratching out a half dozen other titles, I kept coming back to this phrase because it sums up what I want to talk about perfectly. It may be cliché, but the statement is true! The journey itself is the destination, and there are many lessons and gifts we may receive in the work towards our goals. My husband and I recently went to see The Color Purple movie musical in the theater, which included one of my favorite literary and cinematic lines. The line remained consistent from the words in the book by the original author of The Color Purple, Alice Walker, throughout the 1985 movie version, the Broadway stage musical, and now the new movie musical version in 2023/2024. In the scene, the character Shug Avery is walking through a field with the main character, Miss Celie. Shug comments with the iconic line, “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it” (Walker, 2015.) It is such a powerful line fully capturing the sentiment of my theme here and the title, the journey is the destination. While it is very important to set goals, both personally and professionally and work hard towards them, it is equally important and valuable to be fully present and mindful during the journey to those goals. Because in the journey itself there are so many blessings, gifts, and lessons to experience, I’d hate for myself and any of you to miss them. There are many stories in my life where I was reminded to slow down and look around to see the blessings in the journey. In other words, I was reminded to ‘notice the color purple” and so much more around me and take nothing for granted. The earliest stories I remember are with Daddy out in the North Georgia nature.
Daddy was a true outdoorsman and loved to hunt and fish. I have vivid memories of going hunting with Daddy in the wooded area near our house as well as other forested areas around Georgia. I also remember going fishing with Daddy in Lake Lanier, on the Chattahoochee River, and in the many trout streams in the North Georgia Mountains. In both the hunting and fishing time with Daddy, I clearly remember, both of us pausing and sitting still in the midst of our ultimate goals to notice and show appreciation for the splendor of the forest, lake, and rivers around us. While our main purpose and goals were to spot the hunting targets or catch fish, we didn’t overlook the natural beauty around us, which in of itself was a gift just as valuable.
Fast forward to adulthood, another story that comes to mind was when I was forced, due to a medical situation to slow down and notice things around me more. When I was 33 years old, I was working in Pentagon City, Arlington Virginia. I recently attended the wedding of my good friends Dan and Tony, and at the wedding reception, after one too many Martinis, while on the dance floor, I twisted my knee awkwardly, hearing and feeling a loud popping sound! I didn’t feel much at the time thanks to the Vodka Martinis, but the next day, my knee locked up on me at the drug store and I could barely stand let alone walk. I hobbled to my car and drove myself to the emergency room and honked the horn for assistance, as if it was a drive thru service. After the doctor examined me and did scans, they said I had torn my medial meniscus and needed to see any orthopedic doctor, who said I needed knee surgery to remove the torn meniscus. So, for a while I was with a fold up cane and knee brace and had to walk much slower around the office and the park outside. As others rushed past me in their haste to get to and from work and other important destinations, I noticed things on my walks that I hadn’t seen before because I too had been so rushed. I noticed the beautiful colors in the gardens and the symmetry of the landscaping and architectural features. I also noticed people around me in new ways. The slower pace also gave me time to reflect on my emotions and goals I wanted to accomplish. In short, it helped me see a different path for some of the things I thought I had wanted to do. I was so busy rushing from one goal to the next that I hadn’t taken time to look around and reflect on the journey itself. Slowing down and looking around allowed me to see different paths that weren’t visible before, and I’m thankful I did because I chose some of the less obvious paths, which became blessings for me later on.
Even now, in my present journey towards my personal and professional goals, I’m reminded of the importance of being mindful during my journey, pausing to look up and around in the moment to fully observe, be aware of, and truly appreciate everything around me and be open to receive any gifts in those moments. For example, in my current health transformation journey, as of this morning, Friday 1/12/24, I’ve lost a total of 23 lbs. since I started the program on December 15, 2023, while at the same time, I’ve learned so much in the journey of the first month. The gifts and lessons I learned during the journey include reinforcement of the “why” for my health transformation goals, what motivates me, my creativity and resilience during challenging moments on the journey and much more. And things I’ve learned about myself during the health transformation journey also inspire me in my other goal journeys.
This week, my husband Ryan and I are on a short trip to visit friends in Los Angeles and Palm Springs before I start a new graduate school program in February. On Wednesday, we went to watch the sunset at the Griffith Observatory. While our destination was the top of the observatory for sunset, we slowly walked up the pathway from down the hillside where we parked. Taking our time on the journey and being mindful of the scenery looking out onto the Los Angeles Basin from Mount Hollywood, we were rewarded with spectacular views of the city, valley, and hills around us, gleaming with the warm glow and hues of the setting sun over the Pacific Ocean off in the distance. We stopped to appreciate the grand panoramic city view and verdant natural scenery, finding inspiration for not only our journey to the observatory sunset destination, but also for our other personal and professional journeys as well. I challenge each of you to reflect on your own stories where you have paused in the journey to find blessings, gifts, positive lessons, and inspiration. In your reflection, think about what journeys you are on now, and how you can embrace mindfulness to pause, look up, look around, and “notice the purple in the fields.”
References
Walker, A. (2015). The Color Purple. Boston, Mariner Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Print
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