Thursday, June 1, 2017

Stationary Pilgrim

Emily Dickinson, the American poet, was referred to as a "Stationary Pilgrim."  She did not go out much or travel, or try to see sights around the world.  Though I am no recluse, I think of myself as a bit of a stationary pilgrim.  Emily sat at home and wrote 1775 poems, that were discovered after she died.  I have friends who love to travel, and some who are quite discontent if they are not going somewhere to see something.  They are pilgrims to geographic places.  I am more of a pilgrim into the inner life.  I like to explore it in books, and listening to people who practice a meditation, or meditate myself.  I travel on running trails where I live.  I do go places for work, so I get on planes enough for me.  I prefer to be in one place of a while.  I like the routine of "home."  Home is where I am most at home with me.  I belong to local museums so I do get to see a world brought to me in exhibits.  I am curious but without the need to go places.  My blog is my ministry and I don't need to go to a lot of places to do this.  Whenever I have a yen to "go somewhere" I ask myself how much of that is because I don't want to be a pilgrim to my interior life.  I see a lot of unhappy, restless, and irritated travelers in my journeys.  I tend to watch people when I do travel.  So much pain is what I see.

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