The Journey Is The Destination
What is the difference between exploring and being lost? The journey IS the destination. -Dan Eldon
When I had graduated college, I sat front row at a press conference that
announced the official retirement of John Stockton…one of my two favorite
basketball players as a child. In that press conference
he said, “This has been a ride–the journey was the destination.”
Those words spoke loud and clear to me last night as I made my way
down to the Sikh Center in Santa Ana for the Evening of Awareness.
I am recently unemployed and I’m looking for ways to save money. Also,
in an ongoing effort to make myself more environmentally conscious and
physically fit, I thought that riding a bike might be a great idea.
And since I had an upcoming trip to Santa Ana from my home in North
Hollywood, what better way to kick off my newfound freedom with a
killer bike/train combo.
Early afternoon, I rode my bike to the North Hollywood Metro Station
(about 1.5 miles) and took the Red Line to Downtown LA’s Union
Station. I rode by bike around downtown and met up with a couple of
people. Afterwards, I rode back to the station and waited for the next
Metrolink train to take me to Santa Ana. I sat at Union Station and
people-watched…always a fun pastime. Then came time to board the
double-decker train…and in about 45 minutes, I made it down to Santa
Ana. As I departed the Santa Ana station, I headed off–and in about
1.5 miles, I realized I was going completely in the wrong
direction…so I mapped out the directions on my phone and got back on
track. 6.1 miles later, and only five minutes late, I made it to the
Sikh Center for the Evening of Awareness. What an AMAZING workout–and
more importantly, what a great feeling to know that I worked out my
muscles, traveled almost 50 miles, and got rid of excess sweat–all
for the mere cost of $6.50. I saved nearly 50 dollars in gas and I
feel great about it.
As soon as I pulled up, the first people I saw were Raj and
Christine–and Raj’s first question brought me back to
reality–“What’s your back home plan?”–Luckily I knew I was amongst
friends who show unconditional love. One of the volunteers, Mark from
Peace 4 Kids, gave me a ride home since he lived just one block away
from me–what a small world.
The Evening of Awareness was fantastic, filled with good friends, good
food and most importantly awareness and compassion shared by warm
people all around. My destination was not just the Sikh Center or the
activities of the day–it was a part of the journey. The bike, the
train, the night, the ride–they are the journey and that is the most
important thing that I took away from the night.