The past days I realised something. Something that has been staring at me these last years. Something I was not clear on until now.
This something is that the whole idea of journeys sits right at the centre of what I now do.
There are coaching journeys I support folks with. There are group retreats that, for a short time, follow the arc of a journey.
There is the journey of reading and sharing my work through writing.
And there is my own journey of becoming a better human being.
Everything stands on this foundation of journeys and journeying.
It sounds to obvious to say, but I even named my business The Will Johnson Journey.
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This morning whilst sat quietly at an empty desk I attempted to make some sense of what it means t journey.
Here is my Journeys – a mini manifesto
Journeys
Journeys are archetypal in nature.
People have been going on journeys since the birth of humanity.
Some journeys are chosen.
Many others are enforced.
Some journeys can be planned.
Even more end differently from how they started.
Some journeys take place in the mind. They are imagined.
Imagined journeys remain as real and as important as those that require physical movement.
Not all movement equals a journey.
Some journeys demand stillness.
A journey has deep dimensions.
On a journey there may be some desire to reconnect with something lost.
To lose ourselves might be the closest thing we get to a true journey.
Individuals go on journeys, though the act itself is communal.
Even solo journeys can have a sense of attachment to a larger group.
To journey is not the same as to travel, though there may be similarities.
To travel suggests something complete.
To travel is to move from one place to another. There is a beginning and an end.
Journeys feel both incomplete and complete at the same time.
To journey might mean to never reach an end.
A journey may never have a clear starting point.
When a starting point is found on a journey it is not hard to go back a little and find an earlier departure point.
To depart requires courage.
To name an endpoint or destination for a journey can feel deeply dissatisfying.
The journeyer always finds themselves beyond the place they stopped.
Stopping is often not an option on a journey.
A traveller may find contentment in stopping. The journeyer always feels the onward pull.
Always.
A journey connects this world with the other world.
To journey truly is to connect the outer world with the inner, less literal world.
A journey is an imagined act. Concrete but imagined.
Some of the most important journeys go the shortest distance.
A repeated journey is never the same.
A repeated journey is always worth it.
A repeated journey is a ritual.
A ritual, the repeated act of something sacred, might be the only journey needed.
If a journey is needed, or called for, something creative is trying to appear.
To go on a journey is a creative act.
A journey is like an unscripted play, and unforeseen actors will join the stage.
Each stage of a journey is meaningful on its own.
The journey has ultimate ownership of the plot.
To plot a journey is pointless.
To be on one’s own is a condition of a true journey.
Conditions always change on a journey.
When we journey, Hermes is always present.
A journey is therefore a divine gift.
A journey is always true.
And the truth is never far away on a journey
I am cautious about making bold statements. Especially not in the moment.
Right now re-orienting my work around the idea of journeys feels like the obvious conclusion following a long period of reflection.
It might be a container large enough to hold my 1-2-1 coaching work; the rites of passage work I do with men; the Courageous Accountants community I still want to build and nurture; the mixed group work I am developing; and my writing.
If you would like to explore your own journey, to start something new, or simply need space to process the path you’ve been on, please get in touch.