"Wherever You Go, There You Are"

"So, the cross is always ready and waits for you everywhere. You cannot escape it no matter where you run, for wherever you go you are burdened with yourself. Wherever you go, there you are." —Thomas a Kempis, Imitation of Christ, ca. A.D. 1440

This quote seems to be particularly relevant to our American way of life, which is very oriented around "mobility." We've always appreciated adventure and liberty; the ability to just "pull up stakes" and make a "fresh start" elsewhere. This idea that we'll go wherever we "need" to go to pursue education, or a new career, or retirement, or a lover.

But no matter how "mobile" we become, we cannot escape our respective selves. No change of scenery, no matter how radically the departure from our current scenery, will ever free us from ourselves. Have you ever thought, "...if I could just change jobs, go to a different school, move to a new city, find a new boyfriend/girlfriend, it would solve all my problems..."? Actually, if only it were that simple. The truth is, our innner lives, our mental and emotional patterns, have just as much to do with our state of mind as our external lives.

Remember this before you decide to make a radical departure.