The journey is the best reward.

Have you ever found a new book and immediately gone to the end to see how it turns out? I've done it sometimes, were I'll read the final sentence and then enjoy how the book manages to get to that point. I know people who will read the last chapter and then decide if they want to buy the book. I've never understood spoiling the ending. The joy of a good story is the journey you undertake, the situations faced, and the choices made. Knowing the ending dampens the enjoyment of the ongoing struggles of the journey.

Stories mirror life in powerful and significant ways. We often seek out stories dealing with issues we currently struggle with, such as: death, love, poverty, success, tragedy, hope, and on and on and on. True stories are a bit different, because the end is usually known beforehand, but with fiction why deny yourself the joys of taking the journey? There's much we learn about ourselves in the pages of books, far beyond the content of the story itself. But, if you skip to the end, you miss out on all those rewards.

Hearing stories is a powerful method of passing on the wisdom of ages, and providing experiences in an engaging way. The audience willingly participates in undertaking these unknown journeys, with the hopes of entertainment and possibly much more. It's an awesome thing. I encourage everyone to pick up a book today, let the journey fill you, and stick it out to the glorious ending. Only then will the final pages have the cumulative impact they deserve.

- M