And yet imagine the hypothetical five-mile walk. The hour and a half spent on the way prepares you for the encounter and shows how valuable you consider the visit to be by the time spent en route. The effort you put into your voyage helps to validate it when you arrive. I hope that the essays will stimulate your curiosity, thus helping you to get the very most out of your experience. Keep a record of what you are learning about yourself and the journey ahead.
Antiques take on value with the passage of time.
The same is true for letters and journals. Don't trust you memory to retain particular feelings of excitement, fear or indifference which you now have regarding our upcoming seminar. A journal that contains both your feelings and practical information will be useful in a number of ways. You will be able to describe more easily what you will learn in the year ahead, you can share that learning with other members of the group, and you will preserve it as a record for the future. I say that with conviction, knowing how much I treasure even trivial information that opens up my own past.