It was a tender and touching moment to watch Taylor give Cole a hug as Cole loaded his backpack and other gear into his truck. Taylor said, "My brother. Trip."
That's all he knows. Actually, that's all any of us knows. I watched those tail lights leave down the alley behind our house and I said out loud, "Go forth into the world in peace. Be of good courage." And then I sang the Rutter anthem I know that is built around that text. I sang it all day and I wondered and worried that I have not prepared either of my boys to live this life in their full magnificence. (Is that creepy to say? Ooey--gooey bag kind of question?) I wondered that about them because I ask myself the same question every single day, "Am I living my life to its fullest magnificence? And, if I'm not, what is holding me back? Where is the fear blocking me?" (Yes, I am huge reader and supporter of Debbie Ford. Google her and her work. Phenomenal!)
I have not climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. I have not paddled the Amazon. I have not been on all seven continents. Some days---most days, my adventures seem so small in comparison to those who are "really living." But wait. Hold. Put your brain on pause. What about the life-changing journeys that many of us try to take every day? Do they count?
I love the text from Book of Common Prayer. Wherever we find ourselves at this very exact moment---these are powerful guides for living---in magnificence.
I ask you....how huge are these assignments/journeys in our very real lives:
1. Go forth into the world in peace. Your world---the minute you wake up, you are in your world. Before you even get out of bed, you are in your world. Enter it in peace. This might be a little like sailing the Indian Ocean on a raft.
2. Be of good courage. Be brave. Do what your gut tells you. Follow the inner spirit inside of you. It will always lead you to your best path. Ok, that's a Mt. Everest climb for me.
3, Hold fast to that which is good; render to nobody --"not no one" evil-for-evil. A trip to Antarctica anyone? I mean, how hard is this assignment? I could ice trek Antarctica more easily than I am willing to give up rendering evil for evil. I mean, my feelings really get hurt and I get mean. And you?
4. Strengthen the faint hearted. Support the weak. Help the afflicted.
Sounds like a full time job to me. Oh yeah, right in our own worlds---wherever we find ourselves---in the bank, on the subway, on a hike, on I-95, at Macy's, at work, in our own kitchens with our own families.
5. Honor all people. Ahem. Even the homeless. Even ugly people. Even people with rashes and warts and not-so-smart people--even people who use food stamps illegally or cheat the IRS. That means we can't even make a hidden list of people we don't feel like honoring. Oh, doing a tri-athlon is sounding easier and easier than honoring all people----when we go forth into the world----in peace.
In closing (don't you just love to hear those words in a speech---that's why I threw them in just now) the best way for me to teach my own boys is to live my own life the best I can. They'll catch on. Anyway, talk's cheap. Watch what I do.
It's a challenge worthy of National Geographic Explorer proportions: Go forth into the world (Kroger, neighborhood, bank, dentist, nail salon) in peace.
And all the rest of those things. Huge inner journeys take us far. Sort of like climbing a mountain or sailing around the world---Be of good courage.
You don't really even need a backpack.
Let's all meet out there in the world as we journey.
You'll recognize me.
I'm the one struggling---but willing.
Oh, I hope my sons know this.
