Longitudes Unclaimed

Why the destination doesn’t always matter.

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There’s so much pressure to arrive.

To have a clear destination and a timeline for reaching it. To collect proof of progress—titles, milestones, coordinates that show you’re moving forward.

It can feel like if you’re not always advancing toward something, you’re standing still. Worse, you’re falling behind.

But constant striving has a cost.

When you’re always focused on what comes next, it’s easy to miss what’s happening right now. The process becomes something to endure, a series of boxes to tick before you finally feel allowed to rest.

I can think of times when drifting felt better than arriving ever did.

Moments without a goal—just quiet movement, unhurried and unmeasured. Conversations that didn’t need an outcome. Days without plans that ended up being the most memorable.

I think there’s a kind of legitimacy in leaving some things open-ended. In letting yourself move without demanding a clear finish line.

Arrival isn’t always the point. Sometimes it’s enough to be in motion.