Ironically this is more of a book review than an actual journal entry. 

But every now and again we read this piece of literature that we hope becomes our guide our reference

for the long term- for life

and this book did it for me

There were so many moments in this book where it becomes clear that our life's purpose is the actual journey and not an event or an accomplishment. It's the way our identities shift and change over time as we grapple with life's questions and things that organically happen some foreseen and some unforseen. 

As humans (myself included in this) we always seek to find the answers

but what is purposeful in one season of life may become less purposeful when a new question is sought out to be answered or grappled with - it's the feeling of the pathway rather than just a single rock found on the pathway

and when we are faced with our own mortality we are faced with idea of identity as not looking towards the future or tied up in the future but looking towards a renewed purpose

Because I think for many of us, we enter this moment when we realized that a lot of our identities are tied up in the future..

We hear..

When I do this...

or When I become this...

or When we buy this...

"He who has a why to live for can bear any how" If you feel a sense of connection, alot of things can fall apart but life is still joyful. 

and then finally there was this notion that if our identity is so tied up in the future...are we even paying attention to our identity today and the joy and suffering shaping our identity in the present moment? 

For my husband and myself I feel like both of our identities have always lived somewhat in the future because the actually arrival at one's identity is such a long journey (as in the book ...he was just at the arrival of his destination only to realize that time really meant nothing as he was grappling with dying after a decade of training)

and so it demands a conversation that asks the question: what does it mean to be a human being? Sometimes allowing yourself to just enjoy joy in stillness helps the development of identity in the here and now..