Birth is a beginning And death a destination But life is a journey A going -- a growing From stage to stage From childhood to maturity And youth to age. From innocence to awareness And ignorance to knowing; From foolishness to discretion And then perhaps, to wisdom. From Weakness to strength Or strength to weakness And, often, back again. From health to sickness And back we pray, to health again. From offense to forgiveness, From loneliness to love, From joy to gratitude, From pain to compassion, And grief to understanding -- From fear to faith. From defeat to defeat to defeat -- Until, looking backward or ahead, We see that victory lies Not as some high place along the way, But in having made the journey, stage by stage. A sacred pilgrimage. Birth is a beginning And death a destination. But life is a journey, A sacred pilgrimage -- Made stage by stage -- To life everlasting.