Tags
Arizona, Cynthia Bourgeault, experiences, faithful friend, Ordinary Time, Peru, return, shelter, Sirach, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, travel, Wisdom School
Here I sit, finally home again and happy to be. As I often think and sometimes say, I believe travel to be one of the best means of education. I’m sure it will take a long time for me to understand exactly how much I have learned from the people and the environments of Peru and Arizona over the past six weeks. How amazing that both of those experiences happened in such a short period of time and how wonderfully expressive of today’s first lectionary reading they both were.
In the Book of Sirach, chapter 6, we find that a faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; the one who finds one finds a treasure...and, as I read it this morning, faces flooded through my consciousness. The welcome of our Sisters in Lima and the joy of my longtime friend and traveling companion, Maryjean, created a virtually seamless and delightful dive into a very different culture in Peru. Several familiar faces from past Wisdom Schools became a comfort zone in the desert during this past week and the sharing with many seekers of deep spiritual truths whom I met for the first time bolstered my confidence that the world will indeed endure. To share such an experience under the tutelage of the extraordinarily gifted Cynthia Bourgeault is always a privilege – never more than in this experience.
Not the least notable were the moments of return, sitting in our living room with photos and attempts at recounting all the happenings as well as hearing what had happened in my absence. And there will be phone calls and meetings in the days ahead with the others who share the “ordinary time” of my life. In knowing all of this, I know too that I am most blessed with all those who make up the collage of my life.
Who makes you grateful to be living in this moment of time?
