"the journey, not the arrival, matters" - NSW 2004 paper 1

It is the journey, not the arrival, that ultimately transforms the traveller - particularly for imaginative journeys, which often occur spontaneously and is undecided in its destination. The experiences one encounter during their travel/travail is what evolves them to better understanding of themselves and the world, inspires them to spiritual reform, which constitutes the educative and/or therapeutic qualities of the imaginative journey. While the philanthropic vision of Coleridge, in This Lime Tree Bower …

…my head", highlighting their determination to survive and comprehend this unfamiliar landscape. Despite their widely varying mediums, style and perspectives of journeys, all five texts demonstrate how the journeying process, rather than destination, transforms the traveller. Whether to endow them with new understanding about Nature, Man, or the subconscious psyche, to develop qualities like determination or selflessness, or to liberate one from the physical restrictions of the world/self, the journey, not the arrival, matters.