If Ithaka is the destination, what is the journey?
“Have Ithaka always in your mind. Your arrival there is what you are destined for.” C. P Cavafy
Can you remember the last time you were lost? Trying to find your way to a destination, and either taking a wrong turn or not having a clue where you were. How did you feel?
Ever feel a bit like that in life? Not sure what the next turn in the road will bring? Not sure which path to take? Feel stuck and can’t see a way forward?
Ithaka is a poem by C.P. Cavafy. It’s about the journey of our lives and how we reach our destination. It asks the question — are we wiser after all our worldly travels? What have we learnt along the way?
Here is the poem:
Ithaka
BY C. P. CAVAFY
TRANSLATED BY EDMUND KEELEY
As you set out for Ithaka
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidon — don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
