"A journey of a thousand miles" says an old addage, "begins with a step." Certainly you have had moments when you choose to travel somewhere, or go an a vacation away from home or a familiar neighborhood. Most people tend to prepare elaborately. Some would pack light, while others like myself, tend to cram so much into a luggage even for a brief travel, so much so that towards the end of the trip I would question the wisdom in bringing so many clothes I could not and did not use.
Every journey, I believe, has a spiritual dimension. There is something inherently sacred about picking up and going somewhere new. Each journey, for me, is always an excercise in humility. Starting with convincing myself that I do not need so many things to survive away from home, to an acknowledgement of the humanity, sacredness and the giftedness of the people I will get the chance to meet and the places I will be priviledged to visit and stay during my journey.
How we prepare for each journey is as important as how and when we get there, what we do there, and how we go back home. Every step of this joirney process is significant and could in fact determine what we get out of embarking on the journey. This could equally be said to be true about the journey of life in general.
Many NACC members left home this weekend on a journey to Milwaukee WI for the annual NACC conference. These few days of "comming apart from the world" and hopefully detaching ourselves from other things that vie for our attention is indeed a sacred journey. A journey I believe will be worth the effort.
As we enter this sacred journey as the days unfold, please share your journey tips, processes and discoveries with us by leaving a comment. For eg: How often do you take care of yourself on the journey; do you think of your car as a chapel? ...
If you are at the conference, don't miss the fun events that have been worked into the conference this year.
-- Austine Duru
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