Don't take the bus...

When Donald Miller writes about his story hiking the four-day Incan trail to the top of Machu Picchu, I already feel some sort of connection. I never made it to Machu Picchu, nor Peru for that matter, while I was in South America, but I understand his story, and more than that, I feel it.

"...you can take a train and then a bus, and you can hike a mile to the Sun Gate [the top of Machu Picchu]. But the people who took the bus didn't experience the city as we experienced the city. The pain made the city more beautiful. The story made us different characters than we would have been if we had skipped the story and showed up at the ending in an easier way."

I think that, often times, we choose to take the easier means to an end. Some may call it cutting corners, others may say it's strategic planning. After all, like sitting at the top of Machu Picchu, all end up at the same place. But I'm finding more, as my young life matures, about the importance of the often excruciating roads that change our lives. For me, the destination is nothing more than just an end point, but the journey along the way is turning out to mean more to me than it ever has. Maybe, these days, I'm giving more thought to the pace of life, the steps I take, and the adventures that can be present if we choose to omit the use of the sidewalks mapped out in our lives. "The pain made the city more beautiful."

When I get to where ever I'm going, I hope it's more beautiful today, than it would have been if I arrived yesterday.