Stepping Off the Bullet Train

Pilgrimage

“I hear a swelling swoosh; from the south a bullet train whizzes into view on the tracks, knifes through the landscape in a matter of moments, then disappears with a whoosh. It has just covered in a few seconds what has taken me hours to walk. That very fast train reminds me that, as a pilgrim, travel is made holy by its slowness. I see things that neither the passengers of the train nor the drivers of the automobiles see. I feel things they will never feel. I have time to ponder, imagine, daydream. I tire. I thirst. In my slow walking, I find me.”

Kevin A. Codd (Beyond Even the Stars: A Compostela Pilgrim in France)

          This morning, I watched Caroline Myss’ video about walking the Camino De Santiago in Spain. She learned so much about herself and what happens when many people walk together, all in the same direction, with holy intention. She called the pilgrimage “a tunnel of grace.” That walk requires people to slow down, to take their time, and with that intentional slowness comes the realization that “something greater than us is governing our life.” (Myss)

          Caroline Myss suggests that the isolation brought about by the pandemic is doing much the same thing—slowing us down, imposing solitude. We have been a people on the bullet train for many decades and that train has been going faster and faster. The speed of our lives was simply unsustainable. We wouldn’t stop or slow down on our own, so providence did it for us. As Caroline Myss says, faith is not logical any more than life is logical—unpredictable things happen. It may not occur to us that heaven would intervene in our schedule in such a negative and brutal way. But sometimes the gods need to get our attention, and they aren’t above smacking us down to do it.

          One thing that impressed Myss when she was on that pilgrimage was the kindness of other people who were walking the trail. They shared their food, their prayers and conversation. Their greeting was “Blessed Camino to you.” But when she stepped off the path, other people were simply going about their daily lives. Business as usual. The contrast between the pilgrimage and ordinary life was dramatic. The time spent in the slow trek allowed people time to think and pray—for themselves, for one another, and for the world. Progress on such a pilgrimage was always forward, never backward.

           We don’t have to go to Spain to take a holy pilgrimage. We can do it right here and now. In fact, we have an opportunity to take one without leaving home. While you are slowed down, isolated, and wondering what comes next, simply open yourself to the divine. Ask for guidance and expect to get it. Walk and listen. There’s little traffic right now. You can hear the birds sing and the air is clean. Consider that something greater than us may be governing our lives. Do we really want to get back on the bullet train?

                                                  In the Spirit,

                                                  Jane