Journeys: Meaning of Life and Inner Journey

To go on a journey does not necessarily require one to physically move from one place to another. A journey can happen anywhere, and at any time, even if you are not moving. An inner journey is to transcend above the physical and temporal world into a spiritual realm. This enables one to look at life attentively and be alert to the lessons learnt from experience. ‘Of Eurydice’ by Ivan Lalic, ‘Fax X’ by Gwyneth Lewis, ‘Wind in the Willows’ by Kenneth Graham, ‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost, ‘The Red Tree’ by Shaun Tan and ‘Baraka’ directed by Ron Fricke are five texts that explore this concept of inner journeys. Collectively they present inner journeys to be inevitable, that they require you to make choices and that they make you ask questions of an ontological nature.

It can be argued that inner journeys are inevitable in that they are unavoidable. Whether we are open to it or resist it, essentially we grow from experience and consequently this growth contributes to one’s understanding of self. This idea is presented in ‘Of Eurydice’ through choice of words such as ‘dark’, ‘despair’ and ‘death’. These words all have connotations to the fact that death is inevitable, and the persona has come to realize this when his is unable to return from a journey with his goal. This supports the idea that journeys are indeed inevitable and cannot be avoided; furthermore his understanding is emphasized when the composer ends with ‘hideously enriched’. This use of oxymoron is effective in that it portrays that idea of growing and learning from the most painful experiences. Similarly, ‘Fax X’ also deals with the idea of journeys being inevitable; the metaphorical use of a cruising ship implies hopeful prospects for a better day. However the symbolic use of ‘Tomorrow ringing out like a buoy’ presents the depressing idea that essentially we are only looking ahead and mindlessly keeping ourselves occupied until death engulfs us. Hence it is arguable that Inner journeys are