Back To The Future

Getting there is half the fun. Focus on the journey, not the destination.

Most of us are familiar with these two (and others like them) phrases. I’ve seen them plastered on bumper stickers and refrigerator magnets and cross-stitched doilies of all shapes and sizes. The implication is that we should take notice of the present because the future will get here soon enough. This fast paced, rat race of a world we inhabit is rapidly spinning and flinging us down roads and paths with such ferocity, that we often lose sight of what is happening as we  travel along on our merry way.

The other side of the coin is that we should take stock of difficult and trying times or circumstances so we can build character. There are numerous platitudes that accompany this line of thinking…That which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. The problems of today produce the blessings of tomorrow. You get the picture. But, what if you are a person who does not have the luxury of living in slogan-land? What if your journey or problems are so epic that the absolute last thing you are able to do is face them? While I know many people who enjoy having their character built, I see many more who are one step away from the ledge because the destination has evaporated.

Every day I am around people who would gladly trade hope for income; destiny for education; faith for employment. There is an ebbing away that takes place because the present has become unimaginably uninhabitable while the future taunts more than it comforts. How did we get his way? It would be easy to blame politics or religion or a slew of other systems that regulate lifestyles. That’s too easy.

I blame us. Humanity. I think, more than anything, we are forgetting what it means to be human and that respect and dignity are not restricted to economic brackets or certain clubs or what part of the world you were born in. I don’t know… maybe this answer is too vague. There are many people who fight against injustice and poverty and homelessness and domestic violence every day. What will we do if they decide to give up?

We must provide this community with tangible destinations for people to reach, but the journey also needs to be supplemented with grace and opportunity.