"A man can have piled up an impressive portfolio of dollars and honors, get his name in Who’s Who, and then wake up one morning asking, “Is it all worth it?” Competent teachers, nurses, and clergy can reach the top only to discover that the job no longer fascinates; there is nowhere higher to go. They find themselves terrified of stagnation and asking, “Should I switch careers? Would returning to school help?” Gail
Sheehy’s second journey began at thirty—five when she was covering a story in northern Ireland. She was standing next to a young man when a bullet blew off his face. On that Bloody Sunday in Londonderry, she felt herself confronted with death and with what she called “the arithmetic of life.” She suddenly realized, “No one is with me. No one keeps me safe. There is no one who won’t ever leave me alone.” Bloody Sunday threw Gail Sheehy off balance and flung at her a barrage of painful questions about her ultimate purpose and values.
It need not be a bullet that initiates a second journey. A thirty—five—year—old wife learns of her husband’s infidelity. A forty—year—old company director finds that making money suddenly seems absurd. A forty—five—year—old journalist gets smashed up in a car accident. However it happens, such people feel confused and even lost. They can no longer keep life in working order. They are dragged away from chosen and cherished patterns to face strange crises. This is their second journey. (Brennan Manning. Ragamuffin Gospel. Pg 163)
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