038: What a Road Trip Can Teach You About Keeping Things in Perspective
It's amazing how a family road trip puts life in perspective.
Everyone piles in.
You have your journey mapped-out (with flexibility baked in, of course).
And the journey begins.
Life too can feel like one big family road trip.
My related reflections come on the heels of a recent family excursion of approximately 2,000 miles roundtrip.
Ever-evolving scenery, the occasional tension of traveling with our young grandkids, and the joy of reconnecting with family we don't see often enough combined (with a ton of other moments) to create a memorable weeklong journey.
Share the journey with those you love and care about as you age and you'll enhance your legacy
Family road trips aren't for the faint of heart - and truthfully, neither is life in general.
But the occasional tension is worth it as you stay flexible to counter those family dynamics that might otherwise get the best of you.
Family - like most meaningful relationships - is everything and it makes the trip worth it if you...
- Make the drive instead of staying "home"
- Stay curious and rarely, if ever, bored
- Take in the scenery without judgement
Hit the road (depart from the routine)
Flying is faster and of course more time and energy efficient.
But there's something special about the open road that awakens you to things you might not do often enough.
- Time to think
- Time to listen
- Time to see
Whether behind the wheel or not - build think-time into your life journey.
Thinking exercises your mind and keeps you from being mentally and emotionally lazy.
Turn down the "road-noise" and listen.
Listening (like thinking) keeps your senses and awareness sharp.
Keep your eyes on the road.
Seeing involves more than visual stimuli - it's also a matter of enlarging your perspective as you take in the scenery along the way (on the road and in life).
Be curious along the way (you'll get there when you get there)
On our recent road trip I wondered how long it would take to hear it.
Finally, (and surprisingly several hours into our day-one drive) I was asked that familiar road-trip question that all kids (or grandkids) ask:
"Are we there yet??"
There are a couple of layers to that question.
One is a real desire to know an approximate arrival time.
The other (and what's commonly being stated instead of being asked) is "I'm bored...!"
As you age if you're consistently wondering when you'll reach your final destination, you'll miss the wonder of being curious in your present moment.
- Be curious and discover there's more to your aging journey all around you than what's in front of you.
- Stay curious so your aging journey feels more like an adventure than the same-ole-same-ole routine.
Embrace your surroundings (it's a big world out there)
I like road-trippin' in and around new places.
Don't get me wrong, where I live has it's scenic perks here and there.
Even so, the wide-open spaces, distant mountains, flowing river, and sprawling lake where we recently traveled were a welcome break from my daily surroundings.
The world is a big place.
Travel brings that into clearer focus.
- See your current surroundings or place in life through a traveler’s eyes. Too much deja vu means you’re possibly stuck in a rut.
- Remind yourself that you and all the baggage you carry is small in the big grand scheme of things. A mountain is a hill that kept growing and a beach is a single grain of sand that formed a community.
A literal road trip or simple departures from your daily routine could add life to your years
- Hit the road - new discoveries await
- Be curious - it overcomes boredom
- Take in your surroundings - keep things in perspective
Press on...
Eddie