On Enjoying the Journey
Finding pleasure in the challenge + reflecting on my time in Kyoto 🥲
I’m feeling senti! It’s my last day in Kyoto and I’m sitting at my favorite perch at my neighborhood coffee shop. I’ve written so many pages here, processed exciting things and scary things here, soaked in the sights & sounds of this magical city as I bask in the sun and overflow with gratitude. This chapter of my life has been full of ups & downs, and I do think I was destined to face these particular challenges here in Japan—a place where spirituality is woven into the everyday, each action is meditative & intentional, the gratitude of culture is abundant. I know I’m coming out of this time stronger, bigger, and brighter, and I have Japan’s spiritual warrior energy to thank for helping me get to this place of magnificent expansion.
I’ve been living in downtown Kyoto for the past three months, and it’s like a little village as we’re here for my boo’s work. Yesterday we ran into her boss at the coffeeshop next to our apartment, and we chit-chatted about the restaurant’s pop-up, the magic of Japan, and somehow got on the topic of the internet. I thought about how he must get the worst of the worst on social media—experience the worst of humanity through critics and trolls and people who think they know him—and how nerve-wracking his work and life must be. I asked, “How do you keep it together in such high-pressure situations?” He said he was used to it; it’s like a muscle you flex and can train to be stronger. As we parted ways and hugged goodbye, he said, “Enjoy the journey.”
Enjoy the journey. It’s a soundbite I’ve been playing over in my mind. Coming from someone who likely always has people coming after him, it’s a simple concept that carries so much earned wisdom & power. Sometimes I catch myself asking, “When is my life just going to be chill?” It seems like there’s always something going on. But I know I was destined to have a life where people are interested in what I’m doing, where my voice has impact & reach, and where my ideas and mere existence are disruptive & radical. It’s also the price I pay to play. Just how you can’t experience love without heartbreak, I can’t experience success without criticism.
It’s dangerous for us to think, “I’ll feel better once this is over, or once that has finally happened.” This fruitless thinking robs us from the beauty and magic that is happening in every present moment. I want, and intend to, enjoy every minute of this precious life—the highs and the lows and all of the in-between…and not only do I know how to move through the tough times with ease & skill, but I now know how to find pleasure in the challenge, too. How next-level powerful is that!
