Epiphany Sunday is STAR Sunday in our church. Baskets of differently colored stars are passed through the sanctuary during service. You pick a star from the basket and turn over the star revealing your star word. This word is one you are to prayerfully ponder during the year. My star word for this year is Wonder. Wonder, or more rightfully, wondering, has been a family vocabulary word for years. Our youngest, was never the 'why' child as he experienced and tried to understand his ever growing world. He always prefaced his questions with "I'm wondering..".
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my star word |
In preparation for this trip I have checked books out of the library, attended a screening of a new documentary on walking the camino, walked to meetings, school events, friends homes throughout Johnson county. This helped to test the shoes, the socks, the clothes, timing and the backpack. Hopefully this means the I have the right things with me as we head to our camino.
These last weeks as I have tried to get longer walks in, I make lists in my mind of the things I still need to do. Things to arrange so on our return we will find that our Kansas City life is still functioning well and when we return we should not have much catching up to do. You know the things - who will be in town when to take care of the dog; who can I make arrangements with to cut the grass at least once a week; weeding, composting and mulching the beds to hopefully survive the weather during our absence; maybe even planting window boxes so the house will greet us with pretty smiles on our return. Oh and all the meetings, reports and publications to prepare and submit before leaving. I am thinking I can't wait until we are 'just' walking without all the other stuff to 'get back to'. BUT....
Reading John Brierley's books Camino Portugués and Camino Finisterre (recommended reading in preparation for the walk) I came across a statement that a conscious preparation for a pilgrim should be training for 2 paths and the pilgrim must train for both paths - the physical path and the spiritual path.
The physical path I think I am prepared for.
The physical path I think I am prepared for.
This spiritual path? Maybe this list making is part of that spiritual preparation, an awareness that walking can be a creative and productive process and recognizing that it doesn't have to be a stressful time.. A new Stanford study found that walking increases creativity by more than 60%. It states :"The act of walking itself, and not the environment, was the main factor" - I think the environment we will be walking through and the individuals we will encounter and travel with will all be factors in our awareness of the call we are answering.
Although we didn't choose to walk the camino primarily as a spiritual pilgrimage we will be challenged by not only the physical demands but our spiritual experiences. This may be my daily meditation as we step out on the camino each morning - Psalm 94: 18-19
Although we didn't choose to walk the camino primarily as a spiritual pilgrimage we will be challenged by not only the physical demands but our spiritual experiences. This may be my daily meditation as we step out on the camino each morning - Psalm 94: 18-19
Whenever I feel my foot slipping,
your faithful love steadies me, Lord.
When my anxieties multiply,
your comforting calms me down.
your faithful love steadies me, Lord.
When my anxieties multiply,
your comforting calms me down.
Hey William, I am wondering .......
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should I collect street glass as well as sea glass? |
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will I see something as similar as this arboretum path on our camino ? |
is this why, since visiting the Island of Iona over 10 years ago, I have been reading this prayer daily?
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