They say it’s the journey, not the destination. But I used to frequently find myself questioning this. My issue used to be, if the journey’s nice and of reasonable length, and the destination is just a point to be reached, sure the journey’s the bigger pleasure. But, if the journey’s hard and long, and the destination appears brighter, sometimes it can be hard to justify the journey.

It took me some time, and a lot of experience, to realize that the journey’s also the teacher. And the enabler. The journey prepares you. It readies you for newer and unfamiliar tests. It exposes you increasing loads. It stretches and grows your capacities. And in doing so, it makes you fit enough to endure and overcome tests at the destination.

Soldiers and others seeking to summit tall peaks are made to trek long mountain paths over a stretch of time. This is done so that their bodies may become acclimatized to the ever-reducing amount of oxygen in the atmosphere around them. The oxygen availability is least at the top. If someone unused to such low oxygen levels was to be deposited directly at the summit, it is unlikely they would survive more than a few minutes. It’s the journey to the top, to the destination that prepares soldiers and mountaineers, that makes them fit, that makes them survive the destination.

“It’s the journey that makes you fit for the destination. Without the journey, you won’t survive the destination.”

(c) Mickey Kumra