Meditation is both a journey and the destination is a powerful truth. It completely reframes why we even bother to sit down and practice. It’s not about reaching some future enlightened state, but finding peace right where you are.
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Meaning
The core message is that the act of meditating itself—the journey—is where you find the peace and clarity you’re seeking—the destination.
Explanation
Look, here’s the thing most people get wrong. They think meditation is like a train ride. You get on, you endure the bumps and the noise, and you finally arrive at this beautiful, serene station called “Enlightenment.” But that’s not it. Goleman is saying the train ride itself *is* the beautiful, serene station. The focused attention, the returning to your breath after your mind wanders for the hundredth time… that *is* the point. The process is the prize. It’s not about achieving a perfectly empty mind someday; it’s about the gentle act of returning, right now. That’s where the transformation happens.
Quote Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Category | Spiritual (229) |
| Topics | journey (19), practice (38) |
| Literary Style | aphoristic (181) |
| Emotion / Mood | accepting (13), peaceful (147) |
| Overall Quote Score | 87 (185) |
Origin & Factcheck
This comes straight from Daniel Goleman’s 1988 book, The Meditative Mind: The Varieties of Meditative Experience. You’ll sometimes see this sentiment floating around attributed to random spiritual influencers, but the original, articulated insight is Goleman’s, grounded in his early work synthesizing Eastern meditation practices for a Western audience.
Attribution Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Author | Daniel Goleman (125) |
| Source Type | Book (4032) |
| Source/Book Name | The Meditative Mind: The Varieties of Meditative Experience (60) |
| Origin Timeperiod | Modern (530) |
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Authenticity | Verified (4032) |
Author Bio
Daniel Goleman is a psychologist and bestselling author whose journalism at The New York Times brought brain and behavior science to a wide audience. He earned a BA from Amherst and a PhD in psychology from Harvard, and studied in India on a Harvard fellowship. Goleman’s research and writing helped mainstream emotional intelligence, leadership competencies, attention, and contemplative science. He co-founded CASEL and a leading research consortium on EI at work. The Daniel Goleman book list includes Emotional Intelligence, Working with Emotional Intelligence, Primal Leadership, Social Intelligence, Focus, and Altered Traits.
| Official Website
Where is this quotation located?
| Quotation | Meditation is both a journey and the destination |
| Book Details | Publication Year/Date: 1977 (originally as The Varieties of Meditative Experience, revised 1988 as The Meditative Mind); ISBN: 9780874778335; Last Edition: Tarcher/Putnam 1988; Number of pages: 320. |
| Where is it? | Approximate page from 1988 edition, Chapter 7: Paths and Goals |