I am traveling right now -- doing my annual Study Leave and traveling by Amtrak back to Wisconsin. Watching the scenery go by -- some of which is familiar and some which looks new, especially with new-fallen snow in place, I am more aware than every before of the passing of time as well as the passing of geography. Traveling by train makes it possible to meet new "friends" which are really only passing acquaintances, but it gives a person time to learn about the experiences of others, where they are going, from where they are coming, and the reason for their travel. I am always expecially interested in persons who have never traveled by train before. I have also been especially fascinated by people who have never left their original locality and are traveling for the first time.
It reminds me that so often we really get "stuck" in a place in life. Some even call it a "comfort zone" althought my observation is that for many it is not very comfortable. Moving out of that stuck place can be very challenging. Whether or not it is comfortable, we are used to its boundaries and its routines, and making changes can be very energy-comsuming. It takes time and planning and, most of all, determination. It often means a change in direction.
I have never found "treading water" to be very easy. And lest it seem I am changing metaphors in the middle of the talk, I see the willingness to be "stuck" just as wearing and often as difficult as treading water. I don't think most of us see ourselves as having a problem with staying in one place. Yet it is taking far more energy than many realize. Change can be challenging and wearing, upending and overwhelming, but it can also move us forward and help a person become open to more new ideas and new surroundings.
I was raised in a minister's family and it always seemed like we were forever moving. I hated it. I hated having to pack and unpack; I hated leaving friends I hadn't known for very long. I just wanted to move into a house and stay there for the rest of my life. It seemed like a little slice of heaven. Now I know that such is not the case. I would have missed so much!! I would have missed experiences, encountering other cultures, making new friends who have become very important to me, learned other languages, been challenged to read new books and learn new things, learned to eat new foods and to appreciate new styles of living and relating. How dull my life would have been. Yes, moving forward can almost always be the greatest "pain in the neck" one can imagine. But moving forward toward new goals, new places, new horizons can be energizing and uplifting in the long haul. May God go with us all as we explore new destinations in our life journeys! Until next time . . .
