“Journeying god,
pitch your tent with mine
so that I may not become deterred
by hardships, strangeness, doubt.
Show me the movement I must make
toward a wealth not dependent on possessions,
toward a wisdom not based on books,
toward a strength no bolstered by might,
toward a god not confined to heaven.
Help me to find myself as I walk in other’s shoes.”
One of the books on my Reading List for Intentional Hikers is The Soul of a Pilgrim by Christine Valters Painter. In this juicy tome, Painter shares her knowledge of desert traditions. There, pilgrims would request "a word" from the desert monastics. What they sought was a phrase or an image on which they might ruminate for days or weeks, gleaning wisdom and insight from a word chosen just for them.
I'm compelled by this idea and personally drawn to this prayer song from Ghana as my own "word" for my hike this year.
What word compels you? What image or phrase or poem or idea will you chew on while you hike over the few days or weeks or even months?
Leave a comment and share your ideas. You never know...your brainstorm might be just the "word" someone else needs to explore.