One summer, three different destinations, each with different agendas.
The first stop was Colorado Springs, where we spent some time with our son before seeing him off to the Air Force Academy. Now we’re on holy ground on pilgrimage in Israel. After the pilgrimage, I’ll take a detour to Italy, where I’ll be studying for the month of July at the Ezra Pound Center for Literature at Brunnenburg in Merano.
Week one – Negotiating HoursLeaving home, whether for a day or more, provides a break from routine. So as I prepared for a summer away, I looked forward to an escape from the day to day. I left convinced that I could double time and find hours for work, writing and play. I soon discovered that negotiating hours to fit in all my plans would not come easy.
My first week away did pull me from my routine. I traded the South Texas 100 plus degrees for Colorado Springs’ natural air conditioning where we spent some vacation time with road trips to Vail and other surrounding areas. We fit it in time for short hikes and bike rides, but as obligation mandated that I reserve some hours for work, sometimes midnight hours, proofreading and outlining changes for a project, hours for rest dwindled as did my hopes to relieve tired work-week eyes. So much for my idea of waking up refreshed and ready to enjoy the outdoors each day.
Added to the work, came trying to negotiate with two teenagers who brought expectations of their own to Colorado. My daughter wanted to scale mountains. My son wanted to take it easy before basic training. Trying to make everyone happy added a layer of tension I would have preferred to leave at home.
Finally in Vail one morning after an hour of work, while my teenagers rested, we made time for a hike up the mountain. During the hike, in the shade of the pine trees, I spent some minutes alone. This gave me just enough silence needed to reflect on how I was spending my time.
Listening to the water flowing from a nearby stream and the birds singing as they searched for their breakfast, I no longer let the idea of pending work interfere with what I was doing. No phones, no computer, just the mountains, a forest of pines, and a trail speckled with daisies, dandelions, lavender and a variety of mountain flowers I couldn’t identify. The trail continued beyond my reach, and although time required that I start my return descent at that particular spot, I remembered how important it is to enjoy the moment.
Pope John Paul II talked about the “need to slow down the sometimes hectic pace of our days.” He said, “Contact with nature, with its beauty and its peace gives us a new strength and restores us.” Indeed, I felt restored during my brief hike in the mountains.
I returned from our road tip with a refreshed attitude. The next evening, back in Colorado Springs at our host’s home, I delighted in the simple pleasure of cooking for others and sitting together to enjoy the homemade enchiladas suizas.
Maybe someday work won’t follow. For now I realize we balance the best we can and I just have to continue living in the moment even if it means I can’t follow the trail all the way up to the top of the mountain.
Terminando una peregrinación en Tierra Santa donde nació y camino Cristo Jesús, me quedo con una inquietud y tristeza sobre la falta de paz en Israel y los territorios Palestinos, y también sobre la realidad de los pocos cristianos que quedan ahí. Frecuentemente en la peregrinación nos encontramos con ejemplos de los resultados que deja un conflicto sin fin. El muro que divide sitios solemnes y los miles que batallan para sobrevivir.
