Like the joke about how one eats an elephant (or a whale!) how one does a long pilgrimage is – “One Step At A Time.”  Somehow, though, that lesson must be relearned each time, which is why some people go on pilgrimage over and over.  That would be me.  So I am off to Europe tomorrow to begin the many days and miles that are the Via Francigena. Even Steps Have Steps Being old, and responsible, I am not doing... Read more

Been There, Done That Speaking of Sacred sites, and to make good on my claims in the last post, I am going to share some genuinely sacred sites, holy spots, spiritual places, that did not make the the Top 100.  There are not 100, appealingly round as that number is, and I will mention only one in this post. What distinguishes these from the Top 100 is that I have been there. Speaking of Other Sacred Sites, Some are Obvious... Read more

This being a blog about pilgrimage as a way of life, it makes sense to head off on my next official venture, The Via Francigena.”  It is 2000 km from Canterbury to Rome, but I am only going 250 km this time. Were it up to me, I would go the whole way at once.  But life rarely affords such time when one has a spouse, a house, a family.  Thus I will do this in multiple stages. The first... Read more

My title is an actual book title, “Embracing Presence,” published by a friend I have never met in person, Ken Collier.  We know each other via social media, introduced by mutual friends.  He also is a clergyman, and kindly asked me for some critical attention when finishing the manuscript, which is why I know it and like it. So Why Mention It? Well, I do want good ideas to get around, so feel free to check it out, but the... Read more

After 18 years it was time for a new car.  The battery died last week; the front left tire leaks.  The intermittent wipers are REALLY intermittent, as in I have to press the connection on the windshield.  It was tired, and had, at least figuratively, that Old Car Smell.  And obviously nothing to do with Pilgrim Life. Wrong. But it will take a moment to explain.  Let’s start with this citation: “We live not by things, but by the meaning... Read more

Heard of Mattering Maps? Some years ago I happened on a philosopher who talked about Mattering Maps.  It happened when I was adding to a literal map I keep at home.  Sorry it is sideways to you, but it fit my dining table best this way.  I will say more about mattering maps shortly.  First, let me talk about this actual map. You can just see lines.  These trace journeys we have made since 1992, many as a family, when... Read more

You gotta be a certain age to catch the references here.  “I Wish I Was Homeward Bound” is a song by Paul Simon.  It’s also a very different movie, and both are from the 1960s.  Yes, that is now old. ICYDNN, though, my title is slightly different, as I use the subjunctive mood which he does not. While it sings better as “I Wish I Was Homeward Bound,” it reads better as “I Wish I Were Homeward Bound.”  Thank you,... Read more

Each day, while walking, ideas come to me and I think to myself, “Hold that thought until you get home and can write it down.”  I rarely succeed.  Call it absent mindedness, which would be true, but it is also the cost of living the Pilgrim Life. Life vs The Meaning of Life You may know the quote from  Søren Kierkegaard, “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”  That’s the problem with pilgrim life in... Read more

It was lovely, Walking in the Valley of Death. That sure sounds strange, but it was true back on my third day in Israel in January, I happily walked through the Valley of Death. Time to resume my journey through Israel.  Not only was the weather that far better than Midwest American Winter, the place I went was a park that happened to be an ancient cemetery – Bet She’arim.  But let me start with a quote my diary that... Read more