Today I thought I don’t have to ask my friend’s permission or get his approval. I can walk with energy and confidence on my own path, walk in God’s sunshine as it were, and trust in him. Every path goes to my Father’s house and we are hastening there. Even when we turn off and visit the hobo’s jungle we just get more sure where we’re headed.
Keep walking today, pilgrim, even when doubtful. There’s no strategy for avoiding a nasty fall. You’ll meet the robbers or you won’t. Meanwhile I have brilliant insights while walking. They’re intricate but as short-lived as snowflakes on my coat. Nothing lasts forever. I see direction signs and am not sure if everyone is going my way or if no one is. Last night around the campfire, I heard stories of those who went before and someone said that now we’re those going-before people. There was a brief moment of silence and I felt it was true. Now I’m one of those going-before people. Pilgrims tell their stories and I hear that I’m not alone. There are many others.
This morning I woke up with the directions I need. Someone must speak to me at night when I sleep. Trusting in these directions I talk confidingly about them with the dog. Actually I wonder if I should let him lead the way and go where he’s going, but he sits there patiently and looks at me, panting with his tongue off to the side. He wishes only to serve the master. (I should be so dedicated.) We set off with a lively gait and this seems even more useful than a direction. Something will happen on this walkabout, something will come surely, whichever way we go.
Knowing that makes me feel sure footed and I look around at fields and distant mountains. The companionship of the dog feels part of a larger presence. In that presence I won’t be shy to let my voice speak about whatever it wants, even about higher things since my voice came all this way with me, even though I had it tucked in my pack for long periods; it’s good for more than asking directions. I’ll let the voice decide and walk with confidence and joy. I won’t ask for permission or approval from my brother. The road gives unexpected gifts. It’s a living map in which next steps reveal next steps and who knows who’ll rise up to meet me. There’s a mystery in there, a greater hand, and I’m glad I’m on the road.
Dear Reader,
So glad you’re continuing to be here and going to the bottom of things, as it were. I’m being light today in the post, and I mean it, but I’m also touched in the depths by what’s happening around us. Big challenges are happening around us.
One big one is that what’s out there is becoming recognized as less important than what’s in here: Our participation in our own future is key. I love this.
I’m also thinking that ideas-in-here are not as important as shared ideas - co -developed, wrestled with ideas - and communities that embody and wrestle with them together. I’ll be sharing some thinking about that with respect to men’s community particularly because it’s a place where the embodied part is happening in my own life. I’m thankful for each of my men and woman readers, and welcome your thoughts and comments.
Oh, and I changed the blog title to reflect a move to more immediacy and engagement, and practice. We’ll see how it works out!
Yours,
Andrew
Thanks for this, Andrew, I particularly liked the part about walking the dog, to which I can relate, from now on I'll think of it as part of a cosmic process!
Well said and intimately integrated. Thank you!!