"A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving." Lao-tzu

When seeking inner peace, are you a good traveler, or do we insist upon knowing the outcome of our journey? Too often, we stifle our restless spirit when we refuse to enjoy the adventure and concentrate only upon the ultimate destination.

You can't get a beginning journey without actually beginning. There's no other way to say it. You start by starting. You give up your perfectionism. What has perfectionism done for you lately anyway?

Perfectionism as an excuse may mask a deeper problem: Have we accepted ourselves as spiritual wanderers? Is this why we struggle against our inspiration...delaying the journey process until we've learned more, become more proficient or the circumstances of our life change? There are times when it is hard to believe we are truly ready right now...right now...but we are. At this very moment, we possess everything we need to be spiritual wanderers. Accepting our readiness brings the courage to let our spirits emerge; this, in turn, allows us to embark upon extraordinary journeys.

If we could work subtly like water seeping deep into the earth. The water springing out of the ground today fell as rain thousands, even millions of years ago. No one knows much about the life of this hidden water, where it goes, what happens to it among the deep-hidden stones. But one day, released by gravity, it rises out of darkness, and, amazingly, the water springs up completely pure and fresh. If you sit in silence and listen for a few minutes, the words and water will begin to sink in. Let that happen, then let the wisdom do its work. Don't expect or anticipate any result, be but alert to whatever happens. Whatever happens is good. For out of the stillness emerges vision and out of the darkness comes light.

We need to not only accept our inner wisdom but allow it to express itself over time. While all of us might wish for fast and sustained growth, "hothouse" spiritualism is not the ideal. Forced spiritual growth, like vegetables that are artificially rushed, tends to have a flat, cardboard taste to it. There is something hollow, mechanistic, even flavorless in growth that lacks the succulence of full germination which only time can bring.

In order to succeed spiritually, we must learn to be discerning gardeners. We may speak of having the "seed" of an idea, and we need to take that image literally. For a seed to sprout and mature into a healthy adult plant, it requires both care and nourishment and time. The seeds of our spiritual growth likewise require enough solitude and space to grow unhindered over time.

As gardeners, we are much gentler with a growing plant than we are with our spiritual growth. We don't expect the flower to bloom before we begin. We see the necessity for hoeing the ground, planting the seed, watering the earth and pulling the weeds. Though the work may be hard, we are still able to enjoy the tasks and the setting, all the while anticipating the beauty we are creating. Our spiritual garden deserves the same patience. Only then will our efforts bloom, bringing splendor to our world, peace to our soul...and perhaps others...allowing an enriched life well-lived.

It has been a long, difficult, and weary journey for this weary traveler on the road of life. But her fondest heartfelt hope is that peace may enter the lives, souls, and minds of all, who...perhaps like herself...continue to strive toward their final destination "place" in life.

I care not "when" I may arrive or reach that destination...only that I continually move my "spirit" towards it.