Journey on

 In an interesting coincidence, after posting "Just Keep Going" yesterday I received an email from a former student who wondered if I think that life, and countless of its small episodes, are really best characterized as a journey. He mentioned Kurt Vonnegut's Billy Pilgrim, who jumps around in time and place (in his mind) and does not seem to follow any straight path through life. I said I'd get back to him. Here's what I've come up with so far:

It's interesting that your query came on the same day I posted  this (from Playground: A Novel by Richard Powers):

...that classic bit of Quebecoise wisdom. "Attache ta tuque et lache pas la patate!" "Meaning?" "Put on your little beanie cap and don't release the potato." ...the meaning was clear, wasn't it? Hold on tight and keep going. Just keep going. Like any good creature of the tides.

I do think life is a journey, or really a series of journeys, though not often simply linear. Some of them end up  at a preconceived destination but many get rerouted along the way. I'm 69. The line from my starting point in 1957 to here is jagged, with lots of unplanned side-trips and unexpected excursions. As the song says, "I wouldn't take nothin' for my journey(s) now!" 

 Some of us do pursue goals with single-minded commitment, but most of us are diverted or set new goals along the way. Most of us don't go time-tripping like the Vonnegut character but almost all of us find ourselves thinking frequently about the past and imagining the future.

 The late American philosopher John J. McDermott used to say "the nectar is in the journey," which I interpret as: the joy of life is in experience, which cannot and should not be entirely plotted beforehand. Be open to novelty and spontaneity, make lots of plans and feel free to improvise. Form reliable habits that will facilitate your goals, but don't let habit stand in the way of a good time. 

Nietzsche said "the formula of my happiness is a yes, a no, a straight line, and a goal." I interpret that to mean that a sense of forward direction in this life, and an ability to say yes to the "demon" who proposes eternal recurrence, is how to go about "becoming who you are"... but as I say, a long lifetime should be expected to generate many and sometimes contradictory goals, many navigational corrections, many yeses and noes, many experiment in living. And forget the straight line.

But I do weary of hearing everything these days described as a journey: your weight-loss journey, your fitness journey, your journey to wellness et al. It's become a tired cliche.

And I do get your point about the landscape of memory being more of a still-life to contemplate, rather than an expedition to somewhere. This is the platonic sort of sensibility that philosophers like George Santayana have extolled, when contemplating and appreciating "essences" stored in mind and accessible at will. William James called that a "perfection of rottenness"... I wouldn't go that far, but I do think action and movement is generally more conducive to the good life than contemplation for its own sake.

I don't know if I've addressed your concerns and interest in this topic, let me know. But I'm glad to know your journey thus far has brought you to meliorism!

And happy Spring!