AES95 Ithaka

As you set out for Ithaka

hope your road is a long one,

full of adventure, full of discovery.

Laestrygonians, Cyclops,

angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:

you’ll never find things like that on your way

as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,

as long as a rare excitement

stirs your spirit and your body.

Laestrygonians, Cyclops,

wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them

unless you bring them along inside your soul,

unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Hope your road is a long one.

May there be many summer mornings when,

with what pleasure, what joy,

you enter harbors you’re seeing for the first time;

may you stop at Phoenician trading stations

to buy fine things,

mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,

sensual perfume of every kind—

as many sensual perfumes as you can;

and may you visit many Egyptian cities

to learn and go on learning from their scholars.

Keep Ithaka always in your mind.

Arriving there is what you’re destined for.

But don’t hurry the journey at all.

Better if it lasts for years,

so you’re old by the time you reach the island,

wealthy with all you’ve gained on the way,

not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.

Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.

Without her you wouldn't have set out.

She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.

Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,

you’ll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

Ithaka is a famous poem by a Greek poet called Constantine Cavafy in 1911, it has since been translated into many languages, and I really like the message that this poem conveys. Ithaka is the homeland of Odysseus, from Homer’s Odyssey. But the Ithaka in this poem is a metaphor for our own lives, the journey we are all on, and the destinations we strive for. 

As we all try to achieve our goals, it’s important to also never underestimate the long hard road that gets you there. You’ll no doubt face difficulties, insurmountable odds that you have to beat. Along the way you’ll find friendships, laughter, sadness. Of love found and love lost. All of these experiences give us the perspective necessary for us to mature and find the meaning in our own lives.

Focus too much on the horizon and you’ll miss the beauty of what’s already all around you. Remember the old saying, It’s about the journey, not the destination.