Pilgrimage: Willingness to be Conscious.

According to Wiki, the definition of pilgrimage is a journey or search of moral or spiritual significance. Ahh yes, spiritual significance, my personal daily quest, but what has this to do with a vacation?

The past months, I have been reading a wonderful book called the Art of Pilgrimage by Phil Cousineau. It inspired me to set off on the road to explore myself and the world around me in a new way. I feel myself more than ever, being willing to be changed, affected and grown. I have chosen to be conscious of the world around me and seek clarity about how I am affected and how I affect others. 

So much in my life these days is calling me higher, deeper, further. I have been working to create and solidify the work of Character Counts! and have found places within myself being pushed, pressed and questioned. Quite an intense and inspiring experience.

So last week, I set out on a pilgrimage. I knew I was ready to see and hear differently. Life has been shifting in vast was lately and I have found myself called to become quiet and observe the world in a quieter way. Seeking God's light

Often when I seek to see and experience myself again, I go back to the things I love, family, friends, art, design, food...it is from these familiar facets of myself I am able to not only find the things I love about my world, I also get to see so many perspectives and approaches, I had looked past before.

The past 10 days, has been a blessing beyond measure. I had a chance to "see" beyond myself and open myself to change that feels deep and lasting. I can feel that I have been able to actually let go of some old and unloving habitual thoughts.

It was cathartic to be able to talk with so many people who love and KNOW me about the work I am doing and why I believe I have been called to do it. They were able to help me understand at a deep level God's bigger plan. Each person was able to tell me how happy they are to see me so happy today. Each of was able to help understand how LOVE and FAITH has brought me through some pretty dark times he past years.

I was also blessed to be open to several new acquaintances who were placed on my path to hold the space of inquiry. My sense of pilgrimage was inspired by these very special interactions. People who had many things to tell me in the moment. I felt so grateful to meet faithful people willing to share their hearts and open to saying things they felt I needed to hear.

As I write this, I am actually awed by God's divine plan.  I guess that was the primary blessing of the trip. That yes, there is a plan and if I am wiling to open myself to it, it will bring joy and love.

I love my life and all the people who are in it! I deeply sense that I am where I am supposed to be and that my basic sense of path is just right too! I accept that it is evolving and that as I continue to be willing to be aware of the world around me, my life will blossom. I know that I am here to be affected by others and that I too affect the world around me.

I commit to being "CONSCIOUS"!

Choosing to be Affected!

This evening I received word that a man who I had been working to help re-create his life after returning home from prison, ended his life. 

Over the past months, I had begun to understand his flickering light of hope. Throughout his life he suffered many challenges. From being unwanted, to abuse, to a dark place of self loathing. His spirit had tried to hold onto tiny sparks of hope amidst many storms. 

What I have witnessed in my work and in my life, is our inability as people and as a culture to actually foster change and believe in redemption. As we bear witness to others changing, we are required to change. We are required to respond, to be affected. That is where change for many stops, in the reflections of others fears. 

This evening as I lay in my beloved's arms mourning the loss this special mans light, through the tears, we spoke about the ripples his life have created. How in that moment, we had been touched, the friends who have consoled me this evening, you as you read this post have been touched. 

How we choose from this moment to be affected is our choice. How can each of us foster change within ourselves and others in a way that is patient, kind and faithful? 

I am changed - instead of running away because I am hurt and afraid, am have become emboldened, more than ever, in the work I do. I choose to allow this to fuel my work and strive to help others see the power of faith. 

I ask that you allow others to change and open your heart to how you will be changed to make this world a more loving place. May we each allow ourselves to be affected by a death and be reborn in the love of Christ.