Journey as a Metaphor for Dying

We often hear the word “journey” when people talk about the end of life. For some people, it is a euphemism that helps them avoid the word “dying.” For me, that word seems very appropriate, because of what it calls up. It carries an implication of challenge in it. A journey is longer than a trip and involves more difficulty than simply traveling to a set place. Also, a journey contains mystery; we aren’t entirely sure where it will lead, even if the final destination is known.

When we embark on a journey we hope it will go smoothly—that we won’t encounter too much difficulty along the way. We try to circumvent obstacles to our progress. We try to avoid experiences that might diminish the pleasures we anticipate on the journey, even though we realize that every journey must include some difficulty.

If we fully embrace the true meaning of a journey, it also includes the idea of discovery. On any journey, we want to open ourselves to new perspectives; to see the world and ourselves differently. In dreams, a journey is often a quest for truth, for coming to terms with some aspect of our lives, for expanding into wholeness. 

A journey can also be terrifying. But if we are going to arrive we have to find our way through whatever throws us off balance or frightens us. We do that by engaging what stands in the way, not by running from it or trying to best it. Which brings me back to dying. If we fully adopt the richness of the word journey as a metaphor for dying it gives us hints about how best to go about it.

Instead of turning away from the pain and difficulties in dying, the way through is to lean into them, to engage them. Those experiences can teach us a great deal about ourselves and help us discover a wholeness we only imagined as a possibility. While the final destination of dying is death, there may be other places of great meaning that you arrive at as the journey unfolds.