Into the New

 

POINT TO PONDER

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

                            -Seneca

 

REFLECTION by Rajiv Shah

I'm currently on the road writing from a rustic Cajun diner in the middle of the Louisiana bayou. I took this trip as a way to reflect on the year and to focus on what lies ahead. I spent New Years Eve in New Orleans and had a blast there.

When I left it was New Years morning. The air was crisp and biting, but the sky was bright as I hit the open road. As I drove I felt a little sad to leave. I had such a great time in New Orleans - the rocking jazz clubs, warm southern hospitality, and incredible culinary options - that it was hard to go. I wasn't sure if I could top the experiences I had just had.

As I drove out of town I kept looking back in the rear view mirror, contemplating turning back around. Plus, I don't have an itinerary, just following where the road and events take me so it would have been easy to go back. But I need to go farther and to explore the other great things that will surely come along on this journey. I'm reassured that the open road is a constant visual reminder of the endless possibilities that lay ahead.

2014 is upon us and it is entirely in our power to make our journey what we truly desire. There is a reason that the rear view mirror is small. Our focus should be on the expansive possibilities in front of us. This year, this day, this moment is ours to make what we want out of it if you can keep your eyes on the road ahead.

Speaking of which, it's time for me to pack up and start driving again. Happy New Years to you all and keep reaching in 2014!

Comments

[KK Sohn]

Yes there is reason why rearview mirror is small. If it was big, guess what happen?
True life moves forward.
Good story to start 2014. Thanks

[alex]

Cheers to 2014, and Happy New Year !

[Don]

I like the expression - "the open road is a constant visual reminder of the endless possibilities that lay ahead."

Yes, what we can see in front of us is a wonderful sea of possibilities which awaits our challenge.

I believe this "Friday Reflection" can give us another great series of wisdoms in 2014 as well.

Happy New Year!

[Mark Dennen]

I have always felt the best is yet to come, yet I am careful to remind myself how blessed I have been in the past. Many times I have been saved from a calamity and I realize it was not just because I was lucky and for that, I am grateful.

[Penang fan]

Happy New Year to you. I love New Orleans- one of the places for me to revisit when I get a chance.

[Levi's]

Happy new year. I have not visited New Orleans but would like to go there some day. Some of my favorite jazz musicians came from there, like Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick Jr., Nicholas Payton, and of course Louis Armstrong (and many others).

I am envious to read of the seeming freedom you have from attachments. Perhaps this is only my illusion as reader, but it sounds very refreshing to hear that you are out on the road without an itinerary.

Back in my university days, I read a book called, "Zen in the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Pirsig, which turned out to be an interesting road trip novel, but also surprisingly a philosophical discussion reminiscent of Plato's dialogues. Pirsig was deeply influenced by the zeitgeist of the 1970s as well as the culture of San Francisco at the time. Yet, his discussions are fully relevant even today...musings on the failure of most people to grasp the inner (functional) beauty of things, or the dilemma of defining 'quality', the struggles with himself, with insanity, with fatherhood and friedship. His motorcycle carries him across the country both into the future and back into his past. Simultaneuosly the journey gives him time and opportunity to analyze and dissect the ideas of philosophy as seen in terms of the machine. This novel stands as a great classic of our time. If you have a chance I can recommend this book as a companion to your travels.