You Must Go on a Spiritual Journey

You must go on a spiritual journey.

By the time you are 35.

If you didn’t manage the journey by 35, you can still start. Many people miss the opportunity to. You might have kids, or bury yourself in your career, or find yourself part of some social problem. But 35 is the best time to get it going.

I don’t know why, but some people don’t go on the journey. I know many such cases. You will know them too. Them’s the folks who are “followed up” by drama. The man children. The drama queens. In short, immature people. In short, the journey is growing up.

The spiritual journey doesn’t happen as soon as you turn 35. In a way, it has already happened. Most of the steps in the journey already happened, or will happen, in your youth. More will happen stepping out of youth. The moments of pain, the anger, the arguments, the health scares, and slow unfolding revelation. They are the steps in the journey.

Why do you need to go on a journey at all? So many reasons. Those things that bother you - they don’t have to. Me, I shed jealousy. I eschewed bitterness. I let go of ego. I decided that they didn’t serve me. You will too. And we won’t be perfect. But we will be better.

What does the journey look like? As I said, every person is different. It doesn’t mean a trip to a monastery in Tibet, to learn from an old master. A master monk is probably very wise. But sometimes I think the most enlightened person is a middle-aged woman in the North of England. Or that cool, reliable dude who drives the forklift in the warehouse.

You know these people. We both do.

What happens if you don’t go on the journey? Maybe you’ll be fine. But people will notice. And you will notice it yourself. A sense of unease, or a frustration that something is missing. You’ll stumble blindly from problem to problem, almost walking your way to epiphany, but turn back and keep the blindfold on.

I don’t want to prescribe anything about the journey. But you will be humbled. And you will see your fellow people in a different light. You’ll greet your neighbours more. Or chat to strangers in the gym. Or be a comforting presence to animals and children. At the very least, there will be a light in your eye. And we’ll see it gleam.

You must go on a spiritual journey. I cannot tell you how. But I hope you do. It’s not magic, but it’s good. My only warning? It never ends.