Giving Up and Giving To
The Christian season of Lent began this week with Ash Wednesday. I was planning to attend the service at my church and have ashes imposed on my forehead and once again hear the words, “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The journey to Easter and Resurrection begins with the clear reminder that we are mortals and not God.
I have been battling a cold and yesterday I went for a walk to get some fresh air. As I walked, I thought about singing in the church choir that evening. My cold would certainly hamper my voice and in our enclosed choir loft I would be passing my germs on to my choir mates. Should I go or stay at home? My typical response to a cold is to “power through…” Usually within a week I would be feeling better. My Lenten walk led me to reflect and not to infect. The paradox of this season was already at work for I was “giving something up” and at the same time “giving to others” the blessing of my absence. I can hear the tenor section’s guffaws that I was blessing them with my absence.
It is important to recognize that all the great world religions have practices similar to the Christian Lenten observance. In Islam, fasting constitutes a form of preparation. In Hinduism, Yoga prepares a person to experience the Holy. Pilgrimage or holy journey are common to all faiths. Currently the ancient pilgrimage called the Camino del Santiago has been a popular journey for both practicing Christians as well as “seekers.” Joseph Campbell calls this quest “the hero’s journey” in his book Myths to Live By. The question is what are the guideposts and practices on our journeys?
In my last column I wrestled with why interest and involvement in church is declining. One of the reasons I pointed to was the complaint of “irrelevance of religion because of the Biblical focus on ancient times and arcane practices that don’t speak to one’s daily life.” While this may have an element of truth, I believe the rituals and practices of the church’s Liturgical Calendar are intentionally offering people an honest, challenging, and “alternative” way of life in stark contrast to the busy, frantic, and superficial calendar we often practice without evening knowing it. Here’s a link to a delightful explanation in words and pictures by Daniel Erlander of the Lenten/Easter Season.
Personally, my long kayak expeditions have been a classroom of adventure and pilgrimage involving elements of pain and pleasure, struggle and wisdom. While paddling the entire Mississippi River one summer, I was moved to write this letter to my daily companion.
Dear Miss,
I hope you are not offended by my familiar or even intimate form of address, but after nearly a month together I feel we have grown quite close. Each day as I begin my paddle you greet me, and I discover something new about your personality. While I am only a beginner, you have been greeting others for thousands of years. You have become my teacher. I have learned many lessons. Some I have welcomed; others have been hard and painful. You have taught me with the rich diversity of your path from marshes to pine forests, across large lakes, through farmland, along majestic bluffs, through maze-like bayous, by small towns, suburbs, and cities, over wing dams and through locks and dams. I have studied with eagles, trumpeter swans, geese, ducks, deer, otter, beaver, pelican, and, yes, mosquito. You have blessed me with companions who have fed me, provided shelter, and quenched my thirst…. Strangers who have become friends, a cloud of witnesses, river angels.
I have been humbled by your twists and turns, eddies, sweepers and whirlpools and exhilarated by your rapids, tailwinds, and strong flow after a rain. My sore hands, aching back, stiff knees, flagging frame, and frequently struggling spirit all remind me of my limits, my age, and my mortality.
But that is good, because you teach with clarity and truth that I need to hear and embrace. And while I may curse you with some regularity I praise you for the “wisdom” you invite me into each morning as I set out from your shores.
Roll on, mighty waters!
Your humble “Paddle Pilgrim”
Consider Lent or Ramadan or the Eightfold Path as helpful training programs for “Spiritual Athletes.” As I once again take the path of Lent to Easter, I encourage you, wherever you are on your life-journey, to embrace and practice the rituals and traditions that give deeper life to your days! Your life and our world will be blessed!
My books, films, podcasts, and speaking can be found at paddle-pilgrim.com