If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you

The words of Lewis Carroll — “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there” — are spoken as if in jest, yet they contain a wisdom sharp as the blade of truth. They remind us that a journey without vision is but wandering, and a traveler without purpose drifts as a leaf upon the wind. To know one’s destination is to walk with strength; to be without it is to stumble endlessly, arriving anywhere and nowhere.

Carroll, master of whimsy and paradox, placed these words in the mouth of the Cheshire Cat in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The scene is playful, yet profound. Alice, uncertain of her path, asks which way she should go. The Cat replies that the answer depends entirely on where she wishes to end. Thus, in simple wit, Carroll teaches a timeless truth: direction is meaningless without purpose, and movement without aim is folly disguised as progress.

History provides stern examples of this lesson. When the Crusaders marched eastward in the Middle Ages, many sought glory without clarity of goal. Some armies perished in deserts and seas, never reaching Jerusalem, for they knew only that they marched, not why or to what end. Their roads led to suffering because their purpose was clouded by ambition and confusion. By contrast, explorers like Ferdinand Magellan set forth with a clear aim — to circle the globe. Though he did not live to complete it, his sailors succeeded, for their direction was steady, their destination known.

This truth applies not only to nations and armies but to the soul of each person. He who pursues wealth without asking “why” finds himself weary, yet empty. She who seeks power without purpose discovers that every road leads to dissatisfaction. But the one who knows his heart’s calling, whether it be justice, art, service, or truth, walks with certainty even when the path is hard, for every step draws him closer to what truly matters.

Let the generations remember: life offers countless roads, but not all lead to fulfillment. Choose first the destination, the vision that gives meaning to your journey, and then let your steps follow. For as Carroll teaches, without a chosen goal, any path will suffice — yet it will lead only to drifting, and not to destiny.