To Be A Pilgrim

I'm currently reading The Jesus Papers by Michael Baigent. In chapter 11, the author discusses the idea of the sacred site. He muses, "Are such places intrinsically sacred, or do we make them so? Perhaps both. Sacred sites demand participation from the visitor, an entering into a relationship with them, an experience. And there in lies the difference between a pilgrim and a tourist".

After my trip to Germany, I've decided I do not wish to be a mere tourist in my own life anymore. I wish to be a pilgrim.

I wish to participate more, experience more, relate more. I wish to acknowledge the sacredness of my everyday life. I choose to see the sacred in more than the obvious and monumental. I choose to bend my kness to the earth and see clearly the lavendar speckled trillium that blooms for mere moments each spring. I choose to listen with my whole self to the rhythm and rumble of my cat's purr, the 13 "good mornings" on my way into work ,the heart beat beneath my left ear.

Where I choose to participate, experience and relate with greater intensity, awareness, and love, there will be the sacred sites of my personal world.