When going on a hike — or a saunter — or a vacation, part of the preparation and daily activity is gathering and assessing provisions. That process calls for our attention.
When leaving on holiday we check the weather where we’re headed and pack accordingly. There’s nothing worse than dragging around the weight of extra baggage. I remember when checking in for a flight from Birmingham, UK to Paris, France, having to open my suitcases in the middle of the airport and shift my “stuff” from one bag to another to get under a strict weight limit or pay a hefty baggage fee. I was taking a class in Celtic Christianity and brought along a ton of books in case I might need them. If I had thought about it, I would have realized that the class was taking place in a library full of books on Celtic Christianity.
When the Israelites left Egypt, they were weighed down with gold they had looted from their Egyptian overlords. What seemed like a boon and a blessing turned to bitterness.
At the foot of Mt. Sinai, the Israelites used their precious metals to create a golden calf for idol worship. In anger at the Israelites’ foolishness, Moses had the idol burned, ground into fine dust, spread upon water and made the Israelites drink the idol-dust water. I suppose Moses did that thinking no one would try to retrieve the gold after going through an entire nation’s digestive tracts. Turns out all that gold was a distraction and dead weight.
The comedian George Carlin famously joked about how our lives are obsessed with “stuff.” We build houses for our stuff. Fill every closet with stuff. We rent storage units because our houses get too much stuff. We sell our stuff because we have too much then we go out and buy more stuff. I’ve heard some people, who find that they’re weighed down by too much stuff, set a goal to rid themselves of five things for every one new thing they bring into their home. They find that purge a healthy spiritual practice.
So these next weeks, travel lightly. Have you set too many appointments? Are you using retail therapy to soothe your stress? Let go of the things that weigh you down — physically and spiritually.
That said, I do want you to find one thing and begin to carry it with you: a small stone. It can be from anywhere; it doesn’t have to be any particular kind of stone.
This idea comes from the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. Centuries ago, when the Catholic church was building a new cathedral, the church asked pilgrims to bring a large stone with them which would be incorporated into the construction of the cathedral. Once the building was finished, pilgrims continued to bring stones — no longer for construction purposes, but to symbolize a burden they wish to leave behind.
So saunter off, keep your eyes open for a small stone, and as you’re able, keep it with you as a physical reminder of the journey you’re on.
Buen Camino!
Rev. Dr. David Chisham
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