Why Your Life Is Not A Journey

It’s common for people to view their lifetime as one big journey. Some people’s journey ends with a certain amount of wealth, a desired job, or a form of success that will feel different and better than everything leading up to it.

Alan Watts likens an analogy to music in his theory for why life is actually not a journey at all if you want to get the most joy out of it along the way.

Throughout the majority of our lives we get caught up chasing the next thing. The next grade in school. The next job leading to whatever it is you really want to be doing. This continues as we’re filled with distractions that prohibit us from actually enjoying each phase of our life.

Alan describes this eloquently by saying:

“We thought of life by analogy with a journey which had a serious purpose at the end, and the thing was to get to that end. But we missed the point the whole way along. It was a musical thing and you were supposed to sing, or to dance, while the music was being played”.

Let this be a reminder to you to sing, dance, love, and embrace the present moment while you play out your life’s composition.