Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Embracing the Mystery of Travel -- How Taking a Trip Can Become a Sacred Journey



This article first appeared in the Sept./Oct. edition of Unite Magazine.


On the cusp of high school, I experienced my first adventure abroad. The Ambassador’s Chorale was bound for two weeks of singing our way across Switzerland. Singers ranged in age from those, like me, who had just finished middle school to those about to  complete high school. In addition to taking me to a foreign country, this trip was the beginning of my journey of self-discovery. Among those high school aged singers was a bass whom I fell for, hard!  And, although I had a passport to enter a foreign country friendly to visitors, the territory of my own inner experience seemed dangerous. 

It’s been a long journey from those youthful days when I was hardly at home in my own body until now. Now I can feel at home no matter where I am.  And it was that sense of inner hospitality that empowered me in 2011 to pick up roots in San Diego and venture into a whole new community of colleagues and friends as I began to establish my life and private practice here in Nashville. 

As the journey inward can prepare us to pick up and go to a new location, so, too, travel can invite us to find our way to new vistas within. Here are some thoughts for your travels -- around the neighborhood and world, in and around your own heart.

  • Be mindful of the journey as well as the destination. The floors of many cathedrals encompass labyrinths (maze-like designs). In the days when religions encouraged pilgrimages to holy sites, not everyone could afford the necessary travel. Instead they could fulfill the quest by slowly and mindfully traversing a labyrinth, contemplating their own lives in view of the light that shone from a distant shrine. This experience underscored the idea that what takes place along the way is as important as arriving somewhere.  Likewise, a trip to the market for daily groceries can provide opportunity to notice our own inner life. Are we in a state of anxiety? Do we notice the beauty in the ordinary? Do we have a sense of gratitude for daily food? Are we open to chance and not-so-chance encounters along the way?

  • Maps are a good investment, but they are not the journey. And they most certainly are not the territory. We all have maps by which to navigate new territory; we plan our lives in many ways.  Although such maps are helpful, each of us has an inner compass that also must be respected. When the needle of that compass quivers with intuitive warning that we are going in the wrong direction or about to heed the advice of those whose certainty may simply be self-serving, do we pause and reflect? We all know that even MapQuest and Siri are not always to be believed. At times we have to call on our inner compass to verify or challenge the directions on our maps. Before we pass judgment on new places, it is best to be present with respectful non-judgment, open to developing understanding of others. This reflection often leads to deeper understanding of self.

  • Sightseeing can be fun; seeing with the mind and heart can be insightful. Visiting last year a friend who lives in the ex-pat village of Ajijic, Mexico, I let the amateur anthropologist and sociologist in me do the looking and asking. I was fortunate to learn the back-stories of some of the locals, native-born peoples and resident guests. The whole scene took on new and deeper meaning than what would have met the eye alone. Alone, my eyes project interpretation onto the scene. But with the back-stories came new light. Enlightening my appreciation for the people provided an opportunity to learn about my own self.

  • Accepting mystery enriches life’s experiences. Successful people are agenda-led people; they plan their work and work their plan. True, we all need to be clear about where we are going or at least where we clearly intend to be going. But mystery has a way of stepping into our well-ordered plans, diverting us from our course. Taken as frustration to our itinerary, mystery leaves us in the dark. But when we invite the true meaning of mystery into the experience (mysterion = a secret being revealed), we have an opportunity to get back into our bodies and inner lives. We are not, after all, human doings but human beings. The ability to truly “be” with oneself is the most necessary preparation for the adventure with others along the way. 

So, here’s to the trails, paths, flights, cruises, adventures, trips, and sojourns before us. May they thrill, inspire, educate, renew, and refresh us. And most of all, may they lead us to know more fully the territory of our own souls and of those we encounter along the way. 

Dr. Brian Hooper

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