Is life a journey or are we just being immature?

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Jul 25, 2005
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#1
While I am not a Hemingway-like adventurer in the mold of our own Liamson, my work has led me to travel the country and undergo a similar experience in many areas. Since they were different areas, since I did travel long distances to get where I needed to go, I began viewing life in the context of a journey. A hero's adventure.

Each segment of life and new experience, no matter where I was, became viewed through the context of being at another leg of the trail. Part of it still has to do with my youth I am sure.

Sure, life presents us with new experiences, but sometimes being grounded is good. Life in through the lens of what is unchanging is, at times (perhaps at many more times) a good thing. Otherwise there would be no children or wonderful communities to live in.

I have two main questions:

1. Have you ever viewed life in the context of a journey? If so, why? If not, how?

2. Do you feel as though such a view of life is desirable for the individual and society at large?



Yes, Lightningclap, this was inspired by reading the introduction to Speaker for the Dead.
 
Jul 25, 2005
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#2
Okay, this was meant for the singles forum. If one of you admins could switch it up, I would be very grateful.
 

DuchessAimee

Senior Member
Apr 27, 2011
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#3
You're gonna have to move it yourself, Ritter. :)
 
W

woka

Guest
#4
I have on ocassion thought of life as a journey.....I feel that I have often gone along for the ride, especially when it envolved my children. However it is difficult to enjoy a ride when there are four of you on the bus and only three take part. A piece of you is always left behind wondering what if, what if, what if.
 

Oncefallen

Idiot in Chief
Staff member
Jan 15, 2011
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#5
Okay, this was meant for the singles forum. If one of you admins could switch it up, I would be very grateful.

I got your back Ritter...
 
May 24, 2013
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1. Have you ever viewed life in the context of a journey? If so, why? If not, how?

ABSOLUTELY !! I totally see life as a journey, even as a song - a dance ... I know I am only a traveller here; and my true place is in the stars; however I see this in the Light and Dance of Eternal Good...:)

2. Do you feel as though such a view of life is desirable for the individual and society at large?
ABSOLUTELY !! Those who have honour and aspire to Eternal Good and Light should see the things of the earth and its habitation as only temporal - a pathway and a shadow; the ruins of 'one forgotten Love Song' - and seek the Truth to open their eyes to the Greatness that is God dwelling within them - the DayStar that is the Eternal Dawn everdawning in your heart and mind and being - He is with you on this journey - and in the 'dance of Eternal Good'..., that will be forever...
...forever in Eternal Good --- is our journey --- our love --- in the 'us' that knows --- our identity...in HIM...:D
 
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CatHerder

Senior Member
Mar 20, 2013
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#8
1. Have you ever viewed life in the context of a journey? If so, why? If not, how?

2. Do you feel as though such a view of life is desirable for the individual and society at large?

hmmmm......I may post more on this later as I am about to go herd cats.

Yes, I see life as a journey. Most definitely!! Sometimes I see things like I am in a story - at times, I am a main character; other times I am a supporting character in someone else's story.
 
May 24, 2013
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#9
...is there no inspiration; no colour; --- no Light- is there only -black and white-that most can see - and aspire to --- and dreammmm ???
 

Liamson

Senior Member
Feb 3, 2010
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#10
Well Sir... It is precisely the feeling of longing for a home that propels me to keep going forward. I want to find a place and a people to call my own. I was in Florida, Jacksonville to be precise and I went to an Eastern Orthodox holiday called Pascha. Each family brings a Table of food, as if they were to serve themselves but, instead they arrange the tables and you are not allowed to eat from your own table. It was a feast. It was community and a people united for one purpose and all unified by it. It did not matter who or where I was from, Christ was our common bond.



This world is a dark lonely corrupt place. And whenever I feel myself being trapped misunderstood or useless, I get restless hopeful and optimistic about what could be.


There are beautiful places, and beautiful people in this world. Most people are okay living somewhere ugly as long as they have someone to share it with. I have no such relationships, yet I am always in pursuit of it.


I know what it is like, how it feels, to really belong and let my guard down but, Its been a very long time. I don't have a "Home" I have rooms, apartments, rentals, condos but home.... that is where I can sing, and dance, and love, without having to say goodbye, like we do on vacation.
 

rachelsedge

Senior Member
Oct 15, 2012
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#11
It can surely be viewed as a journey, and at times I have viewed it that way (as there are many ways to view "life"). However, I tend to view it more as a book/story: Everyone has different covers, everyone has different contents. You don't know what the next chapter will hold until you get there. Some chapters you laugh, some you cry (some in the same chapter). Some pages are fresh, clean, and happy; others are worn, torn, dirty, yet still pertinent to the story. Some chapters you just want to get through, to see the other side; some you savor. New characters are introduced, as well as new challenges and new places.

I'm biased though because I love books. :)

Sure, life presents us with new experiences, but sometimes being grounded is good. Life in through the lens of what is unchanging is, at times (perhaps at many more times) a good thing. Otherwise there would be no children or wonderful communities to live in.
Does it have to be one or the other? I have been on journeys while staying in the same place, while being grounded. Journeys of the heart, rather than physically moving (though I have also had adventures in that aspect), but a journey nevertheless.


2. Do you feel as though such a view of life is desirable for the individual and society at large?
I would believe so. It shows (whether you have the view of a "journey" or a different metaphor) that there are phases and seasons of life, so don't get too hung up on things that once were, and don't get too gun-shy when new adventures/characters are introduced. I feel that a lot of society, at least American society, is focused on youth, on fun, on partying (as one example). That's a passing phase and I think if more people realized that, we'd have a more mature society, figuratively speaking.
 
J

Jullianna

Guest
#12
I definitely view life as a journey. It changes whether we do or not, or whether we ever go looking for it or not.

Look back at your life so far. You were a child. You were a teen. You had your college years. You had your "just starting out on my own" years, the adventure of finding a career. Some have a new marriage. Some are having children. Some are beginning life again after a divorce or other loss of a loved one. Some have grown children. These are all adventures. :)

I am a military brat and moving around from place to place was all I knew. I love making new friends, meeting new people, seeing new things, learning new things. The more of the world we see, the more we realize how little we know about things, people and the world in general. I love learning what makes things tick. What makes people tick. These things may seem like bits and pieces, but they help us understand and appreciate many things, and step outside of ourselves.

I never want to be boxed in. Live large. We only get one shot at it.
 
M

MissCris

Guest
#14
I thought life was a highway....

I actually don't know that I've ever really considered how I view life. Not in general, anyway...occasionally I feel like my life is a poorly written sit-com, but I've never thought seriously about it.

Huh.
 

seoulsearch

OutWrite Trouble
May 23, 2009
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#15
When I was young, I had my life "mapped out" -- Go to college. Get a good career going. Marry young, like my parents. Have 2-4 kids by the age of 25... 30 at the latest.

Of course, as with most things in life... all of that went down the chute in a very big way by the time I was 25. The world says to take on as many partners as you can... I just wanted to have one partner with whom I could have as many adventures as we could possibly take on. When things went bad, I lost my spirit and will to live, or even try, for a very long time.

I am slowly starting to get back my original vision, except without the children I had once longed for, and without the husband I thought I would love so dearly until the end.

I see life as a bit of a Choose-Your-Own Adventure. (Of course, God happens to be the Itinerary and Traffic Director.) This past week I went to an alligator preserve by myself, and the most amazing thing happened. A 9-foot Nile crocodile came right up to the cage (I was there alone and had been watching her for about 15 minutes) and raised herself up, putting its entire nose against the side of the cage, looking straight at me at nearly eye level. I was literally less than six inches away from these enormous teeth and jaws, and I was awed by God's magnificent creation. It was a better feeling than any of the dysfunctional relationships I've ever been in. People will think I'm crazy but I have no doubt in my mind that God called to that crocodile and beckoned it over to the side of the cage as a sign to me that I shouldn't give up hope on life.

I still want that Choose-Your-Own Adventure. I want as much of the world as I can fit into my scrapbook. I also called about joining another prison ministry this past week as well, because I really do miss talking with inmates.

I don't have someone to share the adventures with... which does get very lonely and feels downright horrible at times.

But... I still want to keep on choosing my own adventures, or letting God choose them for me... for as He has decided my path on this earth will be.

(Sits back... and stops writing long enough to go dust off her passport.)
 
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kayem77

Guest
#17
I've asked myself the same question. I don't know if I've moved so much that I unconsciously started seeing life as a journey and a constant adventure, getting used to not having something stable, used to always find different roads and different scenarios. I don't know if that makes me immature.I hope I'm not chasing after the wind, always chasing for something without knowing what or why. Sometimes that's my concern because then yeah, I would be immature, afraid of 'settling'.

Is this view of life desirable? If you're looking for adventures just for the sake of having an adventure, maybe , if adventure becomes an idol. To be honest everyday I am more convinced that the only stable part of my life is God. Many of the changes in my life are beyond my plans. However, I think life is a journey even if you're not traveling or moving or doing something 'extraordinary'. Sometimes I wish I got to that part of the journey where, after much walking, the traveler decides to put up a tent by the lake and take a loooong break before continuing with the journey :). But I like the journey, and I cannot help but think of life as a journey.
 

seoulsearch

OutWrite Trouble
May 23, 2009
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#18
Is this view of life desirable? If you're looking for adventures just for the sake of having an adventure, maybe , if adventure becomes an idol.
I certainly didn't mean to make it sound as if adventure is an idol. :)

I guess what I was trying to express is that it's more about how we look at life than about what happens. I fight constantly between the despair of dull repetitions and the desire to break free and reach for something more.

Because of the constant batterings of everyday life and being alone so long, I shut down and stopped wanting to do much of anything. "I can't go there... the drive is too far." "I can't go out to eat, I have no one to go with." "I can't take another day of this horrible, colorless routine." Life is really hard when all you hear is, "I can't."

Of course, life can't be a Grand Safari everyday. I guess what I'm trying to say is that when I try to make myself see things as an adventure, I feel like God is giving me a boost to do what I otherwise wouldn't do. I still want to do all the things I had hoped to do--being alone used to hold me back from trying, but I don't want that to be a barrier anymore. If I have a chance, instead of letting is pass by because I'm single, I try to grab on with both hands.

I recently spent an entire day, from the time they opened the gates to the fireworks at night, at Disneyworld. By myself. The only time I got to talk to anyone was when an employee asked, "How many are in your party?" Why, one, of course! Was it fun? It was great to be at the park, yes. But was it miserable to be alone? Yes, indeed. Still, how often does one get a chance to go? I didn't want to let the opportunity pass just because I had no one to go with.

I really liked what you said, Kayem, about God being the only constant in life. Last year I moved across the country, only to realize my worst fear--my life was pretty much the same, even in an entirely new location. I am desperately trying to change that by doing things I always gave myself excuses for not doing because of being alone. And soon, everything in my life is about to change yet again.

In order to hold on to any shred of sanity or "constant", I'm trying to see everything as God's given opportunity, even in daily routines--each day when I go to work or care for relatives or clean the house... it's a chance to allow God to continue His work on my character.

When I stop seeing even daily events as a form of adventure/challenge/lesson from God, I simply lose all hope and sink.
 
Aug 2, 2009
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#19
OK ok you two, there are two extremes... one extreme is when life is such an adventure (roller coaster) that you just wish for stability, and then there's the other extreme where life is so mundane that you would do anything for a little bit of adventure.
 
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Aug 2, 2009
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#20
Okay, my answer to this thread is that life is an immature journey. :p