One step

"The Journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." - Lao Tzu

JOURNEY's have three distinct parts (and for general purposes, so does everything else). The part that most people are focused on is the endING. That, by definition, is the goal.

The arduous, time-consuming, back-breaking, attention-deficiting, part is the BEtweEN part. This is the part in Lord of the Rings where you start skimming, where you start losing your focus.

And there's the BEGInning. That first step. In some way, it seems that the first step sets the tone for the rest of the JOURNEY. Frodo leaves the Shire in attempted secrecy - and spends a majority of his time BEtweEN there and the endING attempting to move stealthily and in secret.

My wife and I started our JOURNEY eleven days ago. We packed my van full, to the roof, and started driving. We set out hopeful and unsure. We set out with all of our baggage, too. We set out, not wanting to leave what was comfortable, to leave our stuff, behind.

Usually, this is where I would fast forward eleven days and explain the meaning behind it. Today, I want it to be wrestled with. I want to stay in this moment, for now, hopeful, unsure, packed.