Introspection. Fuel for the Journey Ahead

Life marches on, day upon day. We take it in stride and roll with the punches. Conversations run from one to another, topic to topic, tweaking our thoughts, spirits, and emotions. Feelings gather, fold into one another, sometimes relinquishing their grip on our lives and those around us, sometimes lunging forth and taking down every unprepared victim in our path, gathering barbed armloads of control over the situation, if only for a moment. We wrap our limbs around the victorious spoils of our encounter, feeling the adrenaline flow, savoring the glory of a verbal/emotional battle smartly won. Then as quickly, it's gone . . . and we begin again, and again, and again.

We leave the job behind, embarking for a few hours of home and/or social interaction, repeating the same phrases of those who raised us. We shrug our shoulders at the familiar words, often rolling our eyes at words we do not care to utter to another . . . . but we do. We feel pangs of emotion when choice verbal items are thrown our way. We react in ways that run a range from disgust to warm-and-fuzzy. Yet we do not understand, and just as often, do not care to know why we act and react the way we do.

Why are we as humans so reluctant to look at why we do what we do? Are we afraid to look within for fear of what we'll find? Are we so confident in who we are that we are above that kind of thinking, (which in itself is often a form of insecurity)? Are we afraid of what we know lurks in the cracks and crevices of our minds. Or are we insecure enough in our own lives that we dare not crack our protective shells, lest they be empty and the whole world will know?

I'm afraid that many of us fill our lives with activities and busy work as a protective mechanism - a fear of the unknown within. We run here and there, doing what we do, but seldom asking why. The why is a critical element in learning about ourselves. Life is not merely a series of tasks to complete, and then you die. Life should be a journey of exploration and expectancy. True, there are certain roads we must drive down and swaying bridges to be crossed. And much of the time we need to take it on faith that we are on the correct path at specific times in our lives.