One day I was driving with a good friend along a two lane highway in Eastern Washington. The road was a little up and a little down, some left and some right. Even so it was an easy road to drive and keep the speed constant. I was driving at the speed limit, but approaching the car ahead. We had been on the road for a while and it wasn’t the first time we had to slow down a little for someone ahead. The Jeep had plenty of power to pass just about anywhere that it was legal, but I stayed the course and kept my distance.
I may have let two or three passing opportunities go by, and then the brake lights came on, then a turn signal and it turned right at the next road. We resumed speed. After a moment of thought I took credit for the events and said with a little bit of a grin “well you see, just a bit of patience and everyone gets out of my way”.
Allen didn’t miss a beat, and replied. “Well, Frank, the reason is that they are doing something that you aren’t doing…” and in the tone of “you aren’t doing” I could hear “you never do”. But he left the answer hanging silent in the air.
I couldn’t bear the suspense, so I asked, “What is it that I am not doing?”
With satisfaction he simply said, “Arriving.”
And so it is, life is a journey, maybe a little like driving. I prefer more driving and less arriving.
