Everything in life is somewhere else, and you get there in a car.

“Everything in life is somewhere else, and you get there in a car.” Thus spoke E. B. White, master of words both simple and profound. At first, it seems a jest, a light-hearted reflection on the modern age. Yet within it lies a truth about human striving, about journeys both outward and inward. Life itself is a pilgrimage, and every desire, every dream, every duty lies beyond where we now stand. To live is to move, and to move is to seek. The car, humble and ordinary, becomes a chariot of destiny, bearing us from the known into the unknown.

The ancients would have clothed this truth in other images. They spoke of ships that braved the wine-dark sea, of horses that bore kings to battle, of sandals that carried prophets across deserts. In White’s time, the car was the vessel of passage, the emblem of movement and progress. Thus, his words remind us that nothing of worth is gained by standing still. Love, wisdom, and fulfillment dwell “somewhere else”—and one must go forth to find them.

Consider the great migrations of history. When families crossed the American plains in covered wagons, they did so because what they sought lay not where they were, but somewhere else. They endured hardship, hunger, and loss, yet they pressed on, for the promise of new life awaited them over distant horizons. In like manner, each of us carries within our hearts a frontier. Our dreams, our purposes, our higher selves—they are not given where we stand, but reached by journey, by motion, by the courage to travel beyond the familiar.

Yet White’s words are tinged with humor, for he saw the modern world bound by the car, the endless going-to-and-fro. Children driven to school, workers to their labors, lovers to their meetings—all life seems scattered across distances. Thus his phrase is both playful and profound: playful, in the recognition of the car as the mundane vehicle of our age; profound, in the reminder that every meaningful thing demands movement, effort, a leaving-behind.

O children of the future, hear this wisdom: do not expect life to come to you where you stand. You must go to it. Opportunity will not wait upon your doorstep forever. Love will not always knock twice. Knowledge will not descend unbidden into your mind. You must set out, even when the road is long and the way uncertain. For everything in life is somewhere else, and the journey to it—whether by car, by foot, or by the strength of your will—is what shapes you.

The lesson is clear: do not fear the journey, nor despise the vehicle that carries you. Whether it is the literal car that bears you across miles, or the symbolic car of effort, discipline, and courage, embrace it. Each road is a teacher, each mile a shaping hand. And though at times the travel seems endless, remember that arrival is not the only gift; the journey itself is transformation.

Therefore, let your life be one of motion. Do not linger forever in the place of comfort, but seek the “somewhere else” that calls to you. Drive with intention, travel with courage, and know that each destination reached is but a new beginning. And when at last you rest, you will see that it was not merely the car, but your own striving spirit, that carried you where you were meant to be.

So I say unto you: embrace the truth of E. B. White’s words. All that you seek lies beyond where you stand. Rise, take up your journey, and let the roads of life carry you onward. For in going forth, you fulfill the essence of living itself.