How a Fantasy Book Helped Me Find Presence

I had a sort of breakthrough recently.

I think it was somewhat inevitable. If you fill your head with ideas, something is bound to stick around.

The idea that stuck around was the concept of presence.

Perhaps my writing on this blog imbedded those seeds when I started. I suspect it goes back further, though, back at least to a fantasy series I got into. It probably goes back even further than I realize. 

"Journey before Destination"

In Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive series, the Knights Radiant have a guiding tenet that says, “journey before destination.”

The full quote is “life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination,” but that last bit gets quoted more often than the rest.

Journey before destination.

It’s such a simple phrase, but it’s one that’s bounced around the inside of my brain since I first read it a couple years ago. It’s been living rent free, you might say.

What is it really like to believe and live your life as a journey before destination?

It goes against our fundamental human nature. We are so focused on our outcomes. We want the summer body, or the beautiful vacation, or the luxury car. We forget about the journey we must undertake to get there.

My Own Kind of Journey

I think of journey before destination when I think of my work on this blog.

I won’t lie; there is that part of my brain that wants this blog to take off. Wouldn’t it be lovely if I got hundreds of thousands of views and had a brand deal with Athletic Greens? I’m mostly kidding about Athletic Greens. I’d prefer Nord VPN or something more useful…

That desire, though, would mean I want the destination of the successful blog without the journey. This blog is only a few months old after all.

But is that what I really want? If I take a moment to reflect on what I want, is it solely outcome focused? I say I want to be a writer, but being a writer isn’t a destination. It’s a journey. 

A book is a destination. A blog post is a destination. Becoming someone I want to be, though, is an action. It is the journey. 

It can be so difficult at times to remember that I actually don’t want to circumvent the journey. That’s where the joy is. That’s where flow is found.

Amor Fati

A slightly different variation of journey before destination, one that I’ve been pondering on for a bit longer, is the Stoic phrase, amor fati. It is a Latin phrase that translates to love of fate.

There’s a story I really like that I always think of when I think of amor fati. I’ll include a clip below. This version is framing it as more of a Taoist story, but I think the Stoic principle applies as well.

The idea behind this story is that the farmer doesn’t react, positively or negatively, to his “fate.” He could’ve been angry at the indignities that were cast against him, or he could’ve been wildly happy at his fortunes.

There will always be ups and downs in our life, but they aren’t the end. The journey is experiencing those ups and downs while the only certain destination is death.

Should We Never React?

These examples and ideas aren’t without flaws. One common pushback against Stoicism (and to these ideas) is that it might suggest we are passive to what happens to us. 

The farmer after all is never happy or sad; he accepts things as is.

I think there’s a balance here. We ought to remember that any and all emotion can be a good thing. It’s a sign that you are alive and experiencing things.

The worst-case scenario (and one that I find myself feeling all too often thanks to endless scrolling on social media) is numbness. Even negative feelings like anxiety suggest that there’s something we care about.

Every Journey Has a Beginning

We are all on our own journeys through life. Each journey takes its own form. Some are much lighter than others, some heavier. 

It is a noble task to embrace that journey no matter how hard it may be. I think that’s what amor fati and “journey before destination” hint at.

Embracing your circumstance can be a way to push toward the change you want. If I want to be a reader, lying to myself about how much reading I do surely isn’t going to help. I need to acknowledge who I am and work forward.

You don’t have to be as stone-walled as our farmer friend. You should enjoy the highs of your life. But also, don’t be afraid to embrace what may seem like a low.

You never know how you’ll look back on a certain period of your life. Embrace the journey.

How will you be more present in your own journey?

If you found this post interesting, please consider subscribing so that the next post gets delivered straight to your inbox!