Saturday, May 21, 2016

Good mornings of endless light


My last morning in Reykavik before beginning the roundabout trek towards the Eastfjiords, I received an email from a woman whose blog I enjoy reading. She offered five ways to make an ordinary trip into a pilgrimage. 

I've personally done a lot of teaching and preaching and even writing in my own blog about our quotidian lives as pilgrimage. I read this wise woman's words, and one thought she had was about taking time to select a theme, a word or phrase (like transformation or self-discovery or creativity), for your trip before you left. Oh well. Too late. I was already into my third day of this amazing journey to Iceland. And, truth be told, I was tired;  I wanted a vacation. 


But her counsel has gently nagged at my soul as I've traveled. What word is a centering point for this amazing journey of kilometers driven and thousands of steps walked over landscapes that no words or photographs can truly share?

The phrase that keeps bubbling is the opening words of our St. Mary's prayer:  Good morning,God (which then continues this is your day; I am your child; please show me your way). 


Good morning, God. 

Perhaps those words keep bubbling up because that prayer is part of my personal daily spiritual liturgy. Perhaps it's because I haven't seen dark since I left the United States. Though the forecast reports that sunset is at 10.30 PM, and that the sunrises at 3.45 AM, it's never completely dark. That also means that there are never sunrises or sunsets, and dawn and dusk are my favorite times of the day. I'm not complaining about a day and night full of natural light; I'm simply thoughtful and aware of the value of darkness in my life. 

As I continue this trip of endless good mornings, how will God reply when I greet God over and over and over during the day?



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