Inward Travel

Have you looked at vacation websites yet this year? Almost as traditional as some of the holiday rituals, when the days are dark & cold our thoughts turn to warm sun & travel.
 
Someone once remarked that humans go to great lengths to explore the world, crossing oceans & traversing plains…..yet we rarely take a voyage to ourselves, where our inner universe is rich & wondrous. We might know continents & countries well, but do we know the valleys, peaks & deserts within us?
 
In mid life, & at a year’s end, we may find ourselves as Dante did:
“In the middle of the road of my life, I awoke in a dark wood to find the true way was wholly lost”
At a time of New Year revolutions we may ask, where do I go next, from here?
 
That can be a great question to take on an inner journey!
As Socrates said, “the un-reflected life isn’t worth living”
Kierkegaard commented that…
“Life can only be lived forwards but can only be understood backwards”
 
 There’s immense value in embarking on a voyage to yourself, a review, a time to dream, reflect on what you know…..& wonder at the questions you are asking yourself. Where do THEY come from? And what do they need from you?
 
The poet David Whyte, says                “Parts of us need resuscitating”
Those might be the aspects of us not getting enough exposure in our daily lives, the inner voice which is not getting listened to or heard. The parts of us that get overtired by responding to demands, responsibilities, ‘shoulds’ & ‘oughts’

"Each one of us is the custodian of an inner world that we carry around with us. Other people can glimpse it from [its outer expressions]. But no one but you knows what your inner world is actually like, and no one can force you to reveal it until you actually tell them about it. That’s the whole mystery of writing and language and expression" —John O'Donaghue
 
So as the winter dawdles in the wet leaves as it creeps towards spring, & we set out on another cycle of our lives……give yourself a moment to embark on an inner journey before you open the holiday brochure.
 
Travel lightly, no suitcase required. Only maybe a pen, a journal,  a pair of walking boots, or simply a cosy chair in front of the window…..
 
“Do you love yourself enough to listen with your heart to the other voices of yourself speaking?”
                                                                               Beno Kennedy.
 

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