Bon Voyage

When I arrived home tonight I saw that the wise men had been quite busy.  Bags were packed and by the door. They were so intent on peering at this map that they didn't even notice my entrance.

Me: Excuse me....What are you doing?
Wiseman #2:  Oh hello, dear landlady.  We are planning out our itinerary for our arrival in Paris.
Me:  Really?  You are going to Paris?  When?
Wiseman #3:  We leave tonight.
Me:  What?  Let me see the invitation.
Wiseman #1:  Well, that would be difficult as we told a wee lie to your dog Lucy. 
Wiseman #3:  Yes, we apologize, but we could not wait for you to return so we told her there was a treat inside of the envelope for her.  And knowing the high level of gullibility that your dog possesses, she jumped up onto our bed and ripped it open.  Fortunately we were able to read the invitation before Lucy devoured it along with the envelope.  You really should do something about that dog's lack of manners!
Me:  Well, you set her up.  Anyway, do I need to take you to the airport?
Wiseman #2:  That won't be necessary as a limo is being sent for us.
Me:  What?  This is all too much to take in.  And you all seem remarkably calm.
Wiseman #3:  You forget, dear landlady, that we are seasoned travelers who have followed stars to a manger in a field outside an obscure village.  Travel is in our blood.
Me:  Then why are you studying that map so intently?  Can't you just follow the stars in Paris?
Wiseman #1: Obviously you have not been to Paris of late.  The city suffers from high levels of air particle pollution and it would be impossible to navigate by stars.  Hence, the map!
Wiseman #2:  Enough of this chit chat!  We must get ready! 
Me:  Well, how will I know you are ok?
Wiseman #1:  we will text you.
Me:  Really?  with no arms?
Wiseman #1:  (icy stare)....cruelty is not becoming dear landlady.
Me:  I know. I apologize.  It's just that I'm going to miss you on Thanksgiving. 
Wiseman #3:  Knowing how attached you are to our royal-highness-ness, we left you a prayer and some selfies.
Me:  Selfies?  I really want to ask how you could possibly take a selfie but I know you will think it cruel so I'm just going to wish you safe journeys and bon voyage!

geography of destiny

“Your soul knows the geography of your destiny.

Your soul alone has the map of your future,

therefore you can trust this indirect, oblique side of yourself.

If you do, it will take you where you need to go,

but more important it will teach you a kindness of rhythm in your journey.”

— John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

photo of El Camino del Rey, Malaga, Spain

pack like a pilgrim

"God of Pilgrims,

Give us always a table to stop at

where we can tell our story

and sing our song."

- Father J. Giuliani,

The Benedictine Grange,

West Redding, Connecticut

According to the website where I found this photo pilgrims carried purses (scrips) which usually contained a bowl, a knife and a fresh set of undies...Realizing that we are all on a pilgrimage, may we always remember to pack so lightly.

Intentions & Transformations

"There is a huge force field that opens

when intention focuses and directs itself

toward transformation."

- John O'Donohue

I recently took my granddaughter down to Kah Tai Lagoon in Port Townsend. Lydia, who is 9, was intrigued from the moment she entered the park. It was all I could do to keep her on the path as she darted to and fro, talking at 100 miles a minute, while touching wildflowers and pointing out all the strange bugs. I could hear myself saying, "be careful" and "don't get too far ahead" and other sorts of adult admonitions. It wasn't until she ran straight towards a tree (off the path of course), wrapped her arms around it and exclaimed, "Oh Grandma! this is my favorite tree in the whole wide world" that I realized that she was having a completely different experience than I was. She was seeing through a child's eyes. Lydia was intent on blessing everything in her path and her intention was having a direct effect on me - it was actually transforming me.

John O'Donohue penned a beautiful book of blessings* several years ago that never ceases to move me. Listen to these words: "We have no idea the effect we actually have on one another. This is where blessing can achieve so much. Blessing as powerful and positive intention can transform situations and people. The force of blessing must be even more powerful when we consider how the intention of blessing corresponds with the deepest desire of reality for creativity, healing, and wholesomeness. Blessing has pure agency because it animates on the deepest threshold between being and becoming; it mines the territories of memory to awaken and draw forth possibilities we cannot even begin to imagine!" **

As I watched Lydia hug her tree I wondered if the tree was aware of her blessing, her love. And as we reached the water's edge and Lydia dipped her hand into the cold current, I began to sense that the water was enjoying the pureness of her attention. I was crossing the threshold between my perception of the park and Lydia's...and with that came a deep sense of kindness towards my surroundings. It's amazing to think of the power of one's intentions, isn't it? May we remain open to all the blessings that are coming our way today.

* To Bless the Space Between Us, A Book of Blessings by John O'Donohue, Copyright 2008
** quote from page 217

the koan

"The koan* is like a pebble in the mouth of a man

who walks in the desert.

It does not quench existing thirst,

but it stimulates the means of quenching it.

-C. Humphreys, Buddhism

*koan - n. A puzzling, often paradoxical statement,story, or parable,

used in Zen Buddhism as an aid to meditation and

as a means of gaining spiritual awakening.

I know the photo distracts from the beauty of the quote - but really,

how often do you see a man walking with a cheetah in the desert?

That's a koan worth pondering!

Taking a stroll: A Nomadic tribesman walks side by side

in the company of a cheetah that he has helped to tame.

More cool photos of the man with the cheetah from here

You are Invited

to check out a new venture:

http://www.pilgrimagept.org/

and visit us on Facebook too! 

church as pilgrimage

"If the Church really sees itself as the people of God,

it is obvious that it can never be a static and supra-historical phenomenon,

which exists undisturbed by earthly space and historical time.

The Church is always and everywhere a living people,

gathered together from the peoples of this world

and journeying through the midst of time.

The Church is essentially en route, on a journey, a pilgrimage.

A Church which pitches its tents without looking out constantly for new horizons,

which does not continually strike camp, is being untrue to its calling."

-Hans Kung

from Inward/Outward

Road Trip

My perception of a road trip:

"A good traveler has no fixed plans,

and is not intent on arriving." ~Lao Tzu

My husband's perception of a road trip:

"If we pack a lunch, leave at 4 in the morning,

& drive straight through,

I think we'll make really good time." - David Hiday

The 5 of us are off to San Francisco in the morning!

I'll let you know how it goes.

photo is from the British sitcom, "Keeping up Appearances"

(the other 3 passengers are the wise men!)

Painful Pebbles

It is not the road ahead that wears you out

– It is the grain of sand in your shoe.

Arabian proverb

photo of Shoe Tree in Middlegate, Nevada

When I'm walking & feel the pain of a pebble in my shoe

I am always surprised by how small the stone actually turns out to be.

It's often the smaller irritants of daily life that really get to me!

Absurd but True.

the path

As we start to turn the corner

and see Holy Week on the horizon,

let us contemplate the upcoming journey

that Jesus will make on our behalf towards Jerusalem.

"You cannot travel the path

until you have become the path."

- Buddha

photo from this pilgrimage

Life explained with Music

More on Pilgrimage

My desire to slip away from the stories and the choices we make

to secure our identity in everyday life has borne fruit again and again.

To go on a pilgrimage, I discovered

you do not need to know what you are looking for,

only that you are looking for something,

and need urgently to find it.

It is the urgency that does the work,

a readiness to receive that finds the answers.

Janine Pommy Vega, Tracking the Serpent: Journeys to Four Continents.

art: Pilgrimage by Dee Guja. explore her art here.