The Journey & The Destination

"Mama always said life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get." - Forest Gump

Mrs. Cog and I live at the end of a dirt road off of a dirt road off of a back road up on the beautiful Blue Ridge Plateau of Southwestern Virginia. God’s country as I’m fond to say to just about anyone who is willing to listen. But we are (intentionally) a ways off the beaten path, which means we must travel well over a mile of dirt road before we hit pavement for the first time.

Once we reach that first decisional intersection, where brown dirt greets blacktop, life for us is not much different than just about anyone else pulling out of their suburban driveway or parking lot first thing in the morning. We seemingly face a choice; turn left or turn right. And oftentimes we believe that our choice is dictated solely by our ultimate destination, and thus there is no actual choice at all.

Now-a-days when I hit asphalt for the first time I try to pause a moment and ask myself a simple question. What type of path would I like to travel to get where I am going? In most cases the Journey road is much longer and more time consuming, but relaxing and wonderfully scenic. On the other hand the Destination road is just the opposite, narrow and twisty and demanding of my attention, but often more direct and much faster.

If you think about it for a moment, while the first decision point crossed can dictate several other choices that follow, there are often several combinations of routes you can travel to arrive at your final destination. And this is why for Mrs. Cog and I (and for you as well if you wish) it is often not an either/or, left/right, Journey/Destination choice. Rather there is no need to make a definitive choice driven solely by the destination unless we wish to select a specific chocolate from the box. And where's the fun in that?

Ultimately it is not of choice of Journey or Destination, but rather Journey and Destination. We can have life's box of chocolates and eat it too because our conscious choices either replenish or drain the box. Expand your field of choices and refill your box of chocolates.

Cognitive Dissonance