On Huckleberries and Haiku

"Centuries of travel lore suggest that when we no longer know where to turn, our real journey has begun. At the crossroads moment, a voice calls to our pilgrim soul. The time has come to set out for the sacred ground - the mountain, the temple, the ancestral home - that will stir our hearts and restore our sense of wonder. It is down the path to the deeply real where time stops and we are seized by the mysteries. This is the journey we cannot not take."

The Art of Pilgrimage, Phil Cousineau (emphasis mine)

This passage speaks to me. It sums up, better than I could, my feelings about this time of Pilgrimage I have entered. I don’t think that I need to actually go someplace far away. In some faith traditions pilgrimages occur internally - vision quests, meditation, walking a labyrinth.

These are all processes where the journey in an internal one.

For me, the idea behind this pilgrimage is not so much about actual travel or necessarily deep meditative states, but rather maintaining an awareness of the world around me and making sure I take the time to really SEE when I look around.

I went hiking with my son this afternoon, we went up into the trails near our home on the side of Mount Seymour in North Vancouver. We were hiking for fun, for exercise and to see the forest around us. Sometimes when I hike for a workout I move too fast through the woods to see the trees, hear the birds, see the plants growing.

It takes slowing down and really looking, really listening, really feeling for a simple hike to become a soul-filled journey.

Today, when we slowed, we discovered huckleberries and though there was a part of me that wanted to keep moving, keep my cardio up - I remembered ‘pilgrimage’ and I stopped.

I watched the light through the trees,
Savored the flavor of the berries,
Relished the delight my son expressed about
how much he loves huckleberries.

For those few minutes we were truly living, not just moving from minute to minute. But feeling each and every sensation in excruciating detail.

We were on sacred ground.

Matsuo Basho was a 17th century Japanese poet. He left his home to walk across Japan, living off the alms of strangers and writing Haiku. His Haiku are still read today because he captured in them the essence of the simple pleasures in life that we all still feel and long for today.

His words about a flower or the moon are deceptively simple and yet are deeply profound.

My affirmation for today is my current favorite from him.

Everyday An Affirmation:

Along the mountain road
Somehow it tugs at my heart--
a wild violet
(Basho)


My rewrite for today’s Backyard Pilgrimage:

Along the forest path
I taste it in my heart -
a huckleberry
(Anne)

A really nice selection of Basho's Haiku can be read here: http://thegreenleaf.co.uk/hp/basho/00bashohaiku.htm

Enjoy