There is a truism of long-distance walking. The first week, one gets to know one’s body; the second week, one gets to know one’s mind and emotions; the third week, one gets to know one’s spirit. As I near moving into my second week, this truism may or may not fit me completely. Because of …
Author: sabbatical2017blog
201. Day of Firsts
Who is this Guy. First Morning Okay, I’ll keep this short. I’ll have to figure how to insert photos at the appropriate spot later 1) My first complete day of hiking, ten miles in five hours. No speed record here. 2) My first day of sunny, wonderful weather, albeit my weather app said there were …
200. Well! Well! Well!
My first posting in almost a year. I apologize for not keeping up with folks. It probably comes as no surprise that I’m not a social media person! Exactly a week ago, our son Charles and his lovely bride Christina became married. I’ll treasure the look on their faces and love in their eyes as …
199. Back Home
Back home!! We returned this week to Atlanta. Marveled at the Japanese maples. Enjoyed the single leaves shapes, sizes, and colors. And the blooming native azalea. And even the sharing by a bluebird and a chipmunk. Picked up down branches from recent storm. Grilled on the Big Green Egg. Paid my quite large Visa bill. …
198. Solitude and Prayer
The first several hours of a day are special. I’m fresh; I’m expectant. After some form of breakfast, I start walking. Normally, these early morning hours are my hours of solitude and prayer. If I’m walking with others, I try to politely say that I’m going to lag behind. Most of the time, nothing more …
197. Attending to Sadness
While I’ve finished this portion of the Via Francigena, my habits on the VF continue. One habit is to pay attention to my feelings as elicited by my surroundings. So, here in Annecy, France, I’m paying attention to sadness. In Annecy, fifteen days ago a knife-wielding Christian Syrian refugee attacked four toddlers and children. Thankfully, …
196. Black and White Photographs of Church Interiors and Exteriors
Although I’ve finished walking the Vi Francigena for now, I still hope to write a few more posts. This post simply contains photos that I converted to black and white. The most basic motive for these photos is that I wanted to experiment with a simplifying of compositional elements. The interiors of churches are challenging …
Continue reading 196. Black and White Photographs of Church Interiors and Exteriors
195. Christian Religious Sensibility in Europe
I have finished walking this part of the Via Francigena. While my feet have finished, my head is still trying to catch-up with what my eyes have seen. When I travel, I always look for signs of religious sensibilities. These signs can be obvious: women pilgrims visiting a Shiva temple in Tamil Nadu, a Rangoon …
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194. Saint Bernard Pass
I’m feeling better. Thanks for thinking of me. Others have gone and are going through so much more, I’m rather self-conscious about writing about the food poisoning; however, that problem has been part of the journey. It is also part of life’s perennial question of how do we acknowledge our own situation without becoming obsessed …
193. Old Plans and New Plans
There are plans…and then there are new plans. I have planned two days to reach the Saint Bernard Pass from Orsieres. Probably about 7.5 miles each day with 1000 meter elevation gain. Our actual trip has taken only 30-45 minutes. An obvious story here. Walking from Sembrancher to Orsieres, I enjoy Wednesday. No rain. Only …
