My train trip back east to Quincy, Illinois was a fantastic opportunity to impart to my friends there especially at Unity Church and the Men's Groups of St Francis Catholic Church the lessons I learned while trudging and living on the road.
While walking westward towards the Rockies I was astonished by how much emotional baggage I was actually carrying; forget about the literal baggage strapped to my always aching back which consisted of my 50 pound backpack I nicknamed "The Beast."
Just by putting one foot in front of the other over seemingly endless hour upon hour over hot, dusty deserted roads and camping out in solitary woods I was able to think about and work on childhood hurts and wounding along with more recent familial upheavals and relational issues.
Walking in solitude the openess of the prariries and the expansive horizons of the Great Plains provided me with the exterior reality I think we all so desperately need as we fly through our extremely busy lives. Most of us have no appreciable time to deal with the hurt, the pain that affect us from all our yesterdays what with raising children coupled with the demands of our work making a living just scraping by wondering when the next shoe will drop.
The layers of my life which had been gathered over the last 56 years had to be excavated, turned over and sifted through before any real personal transformation could occur. Transformation, renewal, restoration whatever you want to call it was and still is the goal of all of this excruciatingly painful work.
We lose so much of our true selves after we leave our childhood and enter the "dog eat dog" world of adulthood like the ability to live and operate in the moment, to look at everyday things like sunsets with wonderment and to lose ourselves in playing.
Our cultural socialization literally kills the child within. As bad as that is, paradoxically, it is necessary for this to happen as we metamorphosis into responsible adults and members of our respective communities. We now have to work by the sweat of our brow to pay the bills to provide food, clothing and housing for our families.
This whole process of socialization I believe is what is meant by the "fall" of humanity. We are confronted with the stark choice between the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Invariably, we all like Adam and Eve choose knowledge and human wisdom over "life." That's what becoming an adult is all about.
"Life" on the other hand means falling into the outstretched arms of Jesus and trusting in his love and his wisdom. Becoming a child again is what "life" is all about and Jesus said as much to Nicodemus and to Jesus's twelve friends when they tried to keep the little children from leaping up onto Jesus's lap. "Unless you become as little children you will in no wise enter the Kingdom of God."
Some thoughts on arriving in Illinois from my 2 year absence on the road is in order.
The green verdant landscape of Illinois with its blossoming flowering trees, the shin high corn plants growing in neat geometrically shaped fields bordered by Osage Orange trees was in stark contrast to the jagged cliffs, miles upon miles of dark green pine forests of the North Central Mountains of Colorado where I now make my home.
Illinois has what I would call a feminine terrain with pale, soft blue skies, gentle rolling chocolatey black fields and lush meadows of cornflowers and chicory. Colorado, on the other hand, with its high rugged mountains, purple mountain peaks, glacial landscapes covered in black-green forests has a more masculine appeal.
Even the smells are different. Spring time in Illinois reminds me of a well dressed lady going out on the town with the aroma of lilac and lavender announcing her arrival. Colorado however smells of witch hazel and piney turpentine reminding me of a burly tree logger.
The differences between my 2 home States extends to its occupants as well. Illinoisans on the whole seem to be friendlier and more apt to initiate a greeting on the street whereas Coloradans seem a bit distracted, reticent and withdrawn. Some of that however, is typical of mountain folk.
Then, there is the altitude differences with Illinois mostly around 600-700 feet above sea level whereas Idaho Springs Colorado where I'm living now is 7500 feet. This was a huge factor in how I felt upon arriving back in Colorado. Even walking short distances was a big deal. I was only gone for 3 weeks but it was long enough to acclimate to Illinois's low altitude.
Back in Colorado I decided to attend the Anglican Congregation at 130pm on Sunday. They had to cancel services that Sunday because the Anglican priest from Dillon wasn't able to make it. Evidently, he's so busy at his home church that it's become an ordeal to drive the 50 miles across the Divide. So, I told the lady in charge that I'm an ordained minister. She then asked if I would be interested in performing an Anglican Mass for them. I told her I had no earthly idea of how to perform such a Mass but I am sure I could learn. She wants to run it by Father John first and then she'll get back to me.
So there you go. We're all Christ followers right? So, why not. I won't hold my breath waiting for Father John's decision but I think it would be fun.
I'm looking forward to attending church at Calvary Evergreen this coming Sunday. There's going to be a big announcement concerning yours truly! Details will follow.
Anyway, see y'all on the sunny side. Grace and Peace to you.
BR Schoenbein
May 27, 2016- Friday
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