To paraphrase a line from Lost: You've been so busy running from things that you don't see what you're running toward. I know I've not gotten the quote exactly as presented on the show, but this is close enough. I won't bore you with details if you don't watch the show, but I have to wonder if Desmond would have done the things he did if he knew he would end up on the island. I guess the question answers itself, since he did pay attention to what he was going toward later in the show and made a very difficult (for him) choice.

The larger, unanswerable, question is how many of us would stop running if we knew what we were headed for? The future is unknowable, but not "unguessable." The trouble, as I see it today, is that there are so many independent and dependant variables that it is really difficult to know where the path will lead. Do we simply stop running? Does that imply loss of forward motion? I don't think it does (imply loss of forward motion). If we stop running and deal with our problems, perhaps we can make greater forward progress. Sometimes, of course, it is prudent to run from some problems, lest the lion devour us. I have to ask myself if I am running from something, and if so, what.