Monday 17th August

Every time I take a literal journey, I am reminded of all the figurative journeys we take all the time. There is, of course, the saying: “Life’s a journey, enjoy the ride.” This is not always possible, when there are aspects of the bigger journey, or whole specific journeys, that are taxing and emotionally demanding and even distressing.

Overall, though, the idea of enjoying the experiences we have as we negotiate our way along our individual paths is an appealing one. Just as is the idea of enjoying the literal journeys we take, as they usually involve some aspect that is new and can lead to interesting discoveries.

The journey may be along an unfamiliar road, then the discoveries are about places and views. The journey may also be along familiar roads, but with different company, or at a different time – then the discoveries are about the people, or changes we notice.

There is so much in this world that changes, even subtly and all we have to do to appreciate everything we see is to look just a little more closely at what is around us. It is often in the small changes that the wonder of something may lie.

Sometimes I think that I have been handed a pair of those ‘rose-coloured glasses’ through which to view the world by having been through this cancer thing. As I have said a number of times, I don’t honestly think that the whole experience has changed my views on life fundamentally, or even noticeably affected the way I go about doing things. What it has done, I think, is to subtly alter the way I look at things and the attitude I have towards others and the world around me. It’s about small appreciations; about considering what is important and what is not; about understanding things just a little differently.

Everything we do affects us in some way, even if we may not notice a change in ourselves or things around us. Sometimes we just need to sit quietly to notice the effect and to appreciate how it may add something to the way we conduct ourselves and how we view things.

Mostly, though, this  just happens without us really noticing. That is what makes us so interesting as individuals and makes everything along the paths we tread potentially about new discoveries all the time.