Awaken Your Destiny

I have always loved travel. For many years, I would have at least one carryon or suitcase in my room; you never knew when the next trip, excursion, or visit will come around.

From ancient times, well-known writers have explored the theme of journey. King Gilgamesh who leaves the throne and begins to seek immortality. The long and adventure-filled journey of Ulysses to Ithaca. The pilgrims who set forth to Canterbury. The Pilgrim who travels to the Celestial City, despite all the opposition. Frodo’s travel through Middle-Earth to destroy the cursed ring. All these are just a few works that show us that life is like a road. Remember the worries and discomforts of Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit, when Gandalf called him. He had to let go of his routine, his habits, the domestic perimeter he lived in, and face the unknown along with a strange team. He entered into a different role, and that required discipline. But his final decision after much hesitation will leave its mark not only on his own and his comrades’ destiny but also on the whole history of Middle-Earth.

Journey means initiation, growth, development. The number of people you know enlarges. The number of memories and their intensity increases. You grow in experience. No doubt your legs, back, and wrists will hurt. Your head sometimes. Maybe you will have blisters, and your skin will be irritated. You will lengthen your step and shorten your sleep. But it’s worth all the toil. Because what you receive far exceeds what you give. You give yourself and you receive a whole world. What you become is far beyond what you have been.

Pilgrimage means a sacred road. It means giving up your ways and going on His path. Our paths are routines. They are circles. The journey He proposes us is an escape from the bondage of everyday life, the unchaining from monotony. It has a clear purpose, a precise target. It doesn’t just give you a mission. It draws your destiny. You get where you need to be.

Somewhere in a puzzle, you are the centerpiece. There is your place. Somewhere, your voice is needed. Somewhere, your eyes need to be. Somewhere, your hands are needed. There is a place where your faith, your abilities, your words, your deeds will make the difference. A place where your contribution will generate change, transformation. A place from which your impact will generate echoes over time to the edges of the world. Find that place. It can be near or far. It may be your home or your neighborhood. It can be a village in Africa or a neighboring village, the room or mountain top where you say your prayers, the prison cell or stage where you play your song. There is a place that needs the book you write, the canvas you paint, the music you compose.