Imagine if you would that you want to go to Oamaru on the bus, the buses run to Oamaru every day of the week and there are at least three different bus companies to choose from. The trick with all these bus companies is that they charge different fares and that they go at different times. You can pay as little as 22.99 on Naked Bus or as much as 42.00 on Intercity but to be fair Intercity does have a cheaper rate if you book early. In the middle is Atomic Bus Lines at 30.00.
So off you go with your packed lunch off to see the penguins and limestone buildings in Oamaru, hopping up onto the bus, you find a quiet seat and as you sit down you plug yourself into your MP3 player for those of my generation or older that’s like a tiny electronic portable tape deck that just keeps playing music, it doesn’t stop and you don’t have to turn the tape over.
So there you are plugged into a medley of classical music, a bit of Vivaldi’s four seasons, Lady Gaga, Hill Songs and Chris Rea. You are enjoying the music so much that you close your eyes and open them as you pull into Greymouth.
Panic. You were going to Oamaru. You are in Greymouth, I spent my last 30.00 on that ticket, I can’t get to Oamaru from here, I have no more money, I know no one in Greymouth! Where will I sleep, who do I go to for help.
You may see that life is like a bus journey, made up of many short trips to different places, often to numerous and exciting destinations, conversations with lots of different people and packed lunches.
Take a step back, take another look, just for the next ten minutes or so. Consider this your life's one long bus trip. One bus, one fare, one destination.