Then pray that the journey is long.
That the summer mornings are many,
that you will enter ports seen for the first time
with such pleasure, with such joy!
Stop at Phoenician markets
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and corals, amber and ebony,
and pleasurable perfumes of all kinds,
buy as many pleasurable perfumes as you can;
visit hosts of Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from those who have knowledge.

Always keep Ithaca fixed in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for long years;
and even to anchor at the isle when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaca to offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you a beautiful voyage.
Without her you would never have taken the road.
But she has nothing to give you now.

And if you have found her poor, Ithaca has not defrauded you.
With such great wisdom you have gained, with so much experience
you surely have understood by then what Ithacas mean.

C.P.Cavafy, Ithaca (translated by Rae Dalven)