Around (and within)...

It's now been 10 years since I first began blogging and while there hasn't been much in the way of this blog's content for the past 4 years; here I am again at the beginning of the Lenten season; and my instinct is to pay better attention to what is going on around (and within) me. So during this Lenten season, I'm seeking to be more intentional about my journey of faith and my encounters with the Holy One. One of the best ways I've been able to do this in the past was to put it out there for others to read and ponder.

For the past few years, I've continually told people that they haven't seen the best version of me yet, I feel like there's a better version of the 1.0 life I've been living. Don't be fooled; I have much in my life to be grateful for, in fact it would take one whole (very long and in depth) post to do just that. Those that know me, know specifically what I am grateful for and how I seek to model a life of gratitude.

Simply put, I feel as though I am at a crossroads again and I am chided to remember the "ancient paths" that have brought me life before and now I must find a way to continue on the old road as I find my way. This crossroad entails a struggle that I have had now for nearly 15 years: it's a journey towards physical wellness and vitality and I know in my marrow that any success I've had in the past has been when I heighten my spiritual awareness, my body awareness seems to tune in better as well. Yet so much of my 1.0 version of life has been due to the fact I've lost elements of my spiritual center. I've lost the ability to speak the language or better said to translate it as I speak with others. Lent has always pulled out of me the deeper meanings of my journey with Jesus and I pray that becomes evident in my posts.

One of the companions for the coming weeks will be Belden Lane's Backpacking with the Saints: Wilderness Hiking as Spiritual Practice. In it, there is a merging of the two rivers of my life that are most nourishing, spirituality and nature. Some of my reflections may run parallel with what I'm reading and other times I will do my best to represent the original intention of the blog: to pay attention to concentric rings of nature, soul and spirit. I've spent the better part of the past 8 years exploring the (quite literal) wilderness and now it only feels right to begin unearthing the wilderness within once again.