Man, What A Trip!

By Paul Allen

Many of those who peruse this missive will, because of their distance in the  journey of life, recall sayings which have largely faded away. One such expression which preceded a subject line was the word “Man...”  Frequently heard was ‘Man, what a movie!’ or ‘Man, did you see that?’, or ‘Man, can that guy sing!’  It was used for exclamation, or even a sense of praise.

One which was used a lot was, ‘Man, what a trip!’  This could be referring to a journey of some kind.  However, it was not limited to that.  It could easily refer to an experience which made a great impression.  Of course, in this case, the subject might be a myriad of events depending on the individual and his assessment of life.  Another ‘oldie’ was that it ‘turned me on’.  This usually meant an impressive impact on a person.  It could mean a scene, a song, a painting, a fancy car, and the list goes on.

These examples describe an earthly or material reflection.  Nothing is really wrong in this sense.  However, could this be applied to something much deeper in the soul and spirit?  If one has a deep, spiritual experience, or a moving revelation of spiritual importance, we might think in past jargon, ‘Man, what a trip!’  ‘Man, I’m glad this has become clear to me!’ ‘Man, how did I ever miss this?’  We need to understand that this mode of thought and expression is much deeper than, say, a great oratorio.  It is because we are spirit, we have a soul, and we live in a body.  Not the other way around.  The Eternal God is the cause of all this.  He is way ahead of us and wants us to walk in His plan.

This journey is why we respond the way we do by saying, “Man, what a trip!”  Because He understands our true motive and response, He receives this jargonistic expression.  The real importance is if He is guiding your journey!