A Letter

As you journey through life,

chose your destinations well,

but do not hurry there.

You will arrive soon enough.

Wander the back roads

and forgotten paths,

keeping your destination

in your heart

like the fixed point of a compass.

Seek out new voices,

strange sights, and ideas.

Such things are riches for the soul...

And if, upon arrival,

you find that your destination

is not exactly as you had dreamed,

do not be disappointed.

Think of all you would have missed

but for the journey there,

and know that the true worth

of your travels

lies not in where you come to be

at journey's end,

but in who you come to be

along the way.

--LINDA STATEN