Begin

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Every journey begins with the first step. And every step may carve out a new journey.

I think we all started our Journey Within us a long time ago, probably as early as when we were born! We struggle to open our eyes, we struggle to crawl, to stand up, to walk… At each instant of struggle, we took a look at ourselves and instinctively understood why we fall, and we try again until we got it.

Somehow, as we grow older, we stop taking this Journey. We stop reflecting on our actions. We stop looking at what we’re actually doing and do the things we do blindly.

I want to remind us in my own small way that the Journey Within is worth it. I want to remind ourselves that we can take this Journey anytime we choose to. The trigger is everywhere! We only need to know where to look. We need to look not just with our eyes, but with all the senses that we have. We also need to look at the things that’s not there rather than just seeing the things that are right in front of us.

The Journey Within also has other names. It’s been called soul-searching, meditation, reflection, career break, self discovery, contemplation, introspection, sabbatical…

Whatever label it has been given, it is a chance to know yourself, a chance to find yourself amidst the routine, amidst the chaos. I’ll be blogging on this Journey, and hopefully, helping you find your own Journey.

The Journey can start anywhere. It can start with a simple greeting like “How are you?“. It can start with a regular thing you do like when you have to choose a washing machine,  get a haircut, or adopt a new tooth. You can find interesting observations in something you see everyday as well like water, or something you hear everyday like noise. It may be something you use everyday like chopsticks, or something as simple as bookmarks (one of my favourites!). It can also be from an activity like hiking up a mountain. It can even be from the space around you.

Of course, you can find the Journey by reading self-help books (this is my list of books), but please remember, this is a Journey Within yourself. Self-help books can only help, the rest is up to you.

So join me in this Journey. You’ll be surprised at what you find. :)