This journey began with a bicycle ride and now continues on with Minute Mentastics® year two.

After writing this sentence, I decided to do an internet search for the word journey. The search first produced pages of information about a famous group of musicians. I laughed, confident that would not have been the first meaning of the word in the large printed dictionary of my youth. I had to look further to find the definition familiar to me.

I found journey can be a noun or a verb suggesting travel or passage from one place to another over time. Already curious, I scrolled[i] down the page to the section about the history of the word, the journey of the word journey.

Beginning as a Latin adjective, diurnus, meaning ‘daily;’ evolving into French, jour, meaning ‘day; to medieval times, journee, meaning ‘day’ or ‘something done in a day, like work or travel.’ Finally arriving in English, journey, meaning ‘a day’s travel;’ and in modern English refers to a trip regardless of the amount of time it takes. It seems the verb form first appeared in the 14^th century.

 Synonyms listed include expedition, passage, trek, trip when used as a noun; pilgrimage, tour, travel, voyage when used as a verb. I even saw advice about finding the correct synonym for the particular meaning intended. For example, trip usually means short travel from one place to another; tour a journey with several steps that ends at the place where it began.

I realized then why I find this word fascinating. I tend to mark moments in time along the path of my life journey the way I notice mile markers along the highway during any trip. These specific minutes tell me where I have been, where I am, where I intend to go.

Mentastics Minute
Set a timer for one minute

• Find a comfortable position sitting. Close your eyes and visualize your life so far as a trip complete with a highway and mile markers.
  • Where have you been?
  • Where are you now?
  • Where do you intend to go?
• Wearing comfortable clothing, walk while considering your life so far as a path you follow
  • Where have you been?
  • Where are you now?
  • Where do you intend to go?

[i]  The Word ‘scroll’ was first used as a verb in 1973, the same year the musical group Journey was formed.