"And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of
miles, no matter how long, but only by a spiritual
journey, a journey of one inch, very arduous and
humbling and joyful, by which we arrive at the ground
at our feet and learn to be at home."
-Wendell Berry, "The Unforeseen Wilderness"
Since June 2005, I've traveled at least 20,000 miles, from the Atlantic Coast of North Carolina to the Pacific Coast of California, and many places in between. It began as a journey into homelessness and ended as an arrival Home once again.
I’ve journeyed through wilderness and urban jungles, exploring realms both dark and light. I've realized the value of seeing this time of my life as a pilgrimage, an initiation, a rite of passage.This Hero's Journey has served me well, to reconnect me with the Earth and with Spirit, pushing and pulling me to heal my personal life, and strengthening my resolve to help restore the balance and majesty of our beloved planetary home.
The lessons of this journey were about survival, interconnectedness, faith in Spirit and the Flow, forgiveness of people who knew not what they did, growth in myself of qualities dormant for too long, and so much more. I began as an innocent fool, and emerged as a sage in training. When others held up the Light for me, I took hold of it and held it up for those who got on the trail after me, to help show the way.
Wisdom, Wilderness and Wanderlust. They've compelled deep and profound revelations about my true nature, about the purpose of my life, about possibilities, as I began to transition to a new phase of my soul's evolution. They've given me deeper understandings about life and love, and respect for the intimate interconnectedness of all life. I've learned about the road as a metaphor for the journey of life, like never before.
I've had to call on all my reserves of courage and endurance to overcome the obstacles along the way. The rewards have been times of soulful bliss in the midst of crippling darkness, a deeper radiance in the face of diabolical oppositions, an opening of my heart and expansion of my mind despite the lagging awareness of some of those around me, and a certainty that I am stronger and bigger than I know. These Hero's Prizes came to me after many months and miles of intense suffering and struggling to be reborn and to find Home again.
I have to honor myself and all pilgrims and soul survivors for enduring the journeys and rebirths. The Road has forced a lot of deep emotional stuff to the surface, which had to be processed and released. I had to be strong to understand, to correctly interpret, and to integrate my experiences. Without the understanding and release, I could not have transcended and carried on. Sharing my stories with you helps me to attain a profound integration of my being, going from woundedness to wholeness.
My Journey thru Wisdom and Wanderlust has been in all ways an experience of being fully alive. My heart and my soul have remembered Truth, given and received Love, been electrified and soothed and metamorphosed by Light. I was a caterpillar, now I am a butterfly. And so my journey Homeward continues...
