Journey or the Destination?

I was recently discussing with a friend of mine about the fact whether a journey or the destination is more important in our lives, she and I both agreed  that it is the journey.

Both of us remember the ways we traveled for work more than the work benches during last 5 years. One another friend thinks just the opposite. He doesn't remember the journey to his office but he remembers the table, the office room and the computer screen, he has used in his last places of work.

When I was looking for jobs in industry and in one of the few interview offers I got, I was asked what do I relish the journey of doing a project or the target. I proudly said the journey, I like the process of working, I like the knowledge I gather while doing a project, I cherish the skills I get to learn, I feel very happy if the projects results into a fruitful piece, but if not I feel contended that I got the opportunity to work there and I got to know so many people through that piece of work. I did not get the job, so I guess my answer was not appreciated. I guess in  a practical  and conformers world, objectives, targets and fulfilling them via any means are most important agenda. Those who try their best but can not achieve the target, some how end up being portrayed as confused characters and society call them not useful enough. I was actually asked by my boss that instead of thinking what I want to learn, I should think which learning will help me in my career. Also it is a known unsaid rule that in work places, although during hiring a point is mentioned that care will be taken for personal growth of the employee, but my experience says that any personal interest is taken care of only when that coincides with the prime interest of the company/institute. So after all an employee is just a mean to bring more production, more money and more fame to an institute, it does not matter if that employee has benefited by doing that or not. There are huge number of people who can accommodate themselves into that need, but there are a few who cannot.

World might work in that way, but for me the process of living is more important than trying to fulfil it all the time. I prefer to learn what I want than what is needed. And I must add the point that, for wanting a life where the priorities are set by me and not by  the need of the society or a situation, I sometime feel I struggle a lot more than who accept to live in a predefined formats, made for them, by the society or the family. By following my new rule book if I can touch high achieving model defined by the society, one measure of that is money, society will  then perhaps accept my norms but till then I need to struggle for existence, I need to keep explaining my choices. And this struggle can sometimes  be hard and lonely. I might never touch that model life of rich with money and fame and remain marked as an not so successful and not worthy enough.

Then on looking around I see that  there are actually many people who are in same shoes like me, they are not fitting into any group and trying to painstakingly carve a niche for themselves, living lives build on their choices. They are not high achievers (according to the conformists world), may be because of the decisions taken by them or the choices they have made, but if you think carefully they are the ones who make this earth more versatile, they are the ones who will not look at their watch and will come forward if they see some one needs help on the road, they are the ones who will listen to you carefully before giving you opinionated virtues without even understanding what your strong points are. They are the one who bring up new dimensions to the existing world. But unfortunately they are not acknowledged by the society, for the values they add to this world mostly are uncountable and qualitative.

Some might say, it is all rubbish about journey and destination, you need to keep going and need to stay in the system, fulfill some objectives at least, to bring a change in it. If for that reason you need to bend a little that should not be an issue. That might be true, for a practical approach even for a non conformist in a world of conformers. And what I say is that by any chance if you fall into this category then  you need to have immense amount of patience, courage and a strong head. You need to be able to make decisions on daily basis and have faith in them, you need to be have voice to say a spade a spade and at all costs, you need to have strength to pave a new road through the path untravelled.

And you need to keep travelling may wherever the end is.

Photo courtesy: Roads from different parts of India