Two weeks ago I announced my upcoming book, Pilgrim Principles: Journeying with Intention in Everyday Life. So far, I’ve shared with you a free preview from the first two sections of the book, giving you a glimpse of the first and second Pilgrim Principles. Read the first two free previews here:
1. “A pilgrim looks for the Sacred in the Quotidian” // Home
2. “A pilgrim practices somatic spirituality” // Taste
The book won’t be released until January 6, 2014, but while you wait you can find a free preview from each section of the book every Wednesday until Christmas, giving you a taste of all seven Pilgrim Principles (and hopefully leaving you yearning for more!). This week’s preview is of the third Pilgrim Principle, “A pilgrim is a good steward of resources,” and explores the resources we have at our disposal for our journeys but are often overlooked (or sometimes just neglected): time, money, abilities, possessions, and the environment. Today’s preview is all about possessions–just in time for a season where our obsession for possessions threatens to overpower meaning, no?
Enjoy, and feel free to spread the love by sharing away!
MORE PRAISE FOR THE BOOK
Some more thoughts on the book, this time from Dan Cumberland of The Meaning Movement:
“Lacy is a woman of great depth and insight. Her work and words continually call me into deeper places of meaning and authenticity. Listen closely to what she has to say! She will take you to surprising and important places—personally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically.”
-Dan Cumberland, themeaningmovement.com
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pilgrim principles free book preview: possessions
In this week’s introduction, I described the outfitting of the traditional pilgrim–coat, staff, hat, small satchel. Though times have changed and many advancements have been made in the travel gear market, one thing remains the same between the possessions of the traditional and modern pilgrim on a literal journey: they possess only what they can carry.
This doesn’t mean that they carry only the obvious necessities, though. Pilgrims today carry a change of clothes, soap, and a toothbrush, yes–but they also carry journals for reflection, books for inspiration, and photographs for remembrance. They might carry music for motivation or lip gloss to help them forget that they haven’t showered in five days. These things can be just as important to the well-being of the pilgrim as a jacket to shield him from the rain or a broken-in pair of boots.
Of course, filling a single bag with both practical and personal necessities can quickly result in overpacking. In fact, I’ve heard many stories of pilgrims on the Road to Santiago de Compostela leaving things behind that weren’t so important after all, just to lighten the load. As they journeyed, learning more about themselves as well as the path on which they walked, they came to realize that they could do without the things that once seemed necessary. In fact, in the end they felt better for it.
Being intentional with our possessions and lightening the load is something we can also practice in our daily lives as pilgrims, though with the amount of possessions in our homes, it will take more than a split-second to decide what we can leave behind and what to let go. Whether you can feel it or not, the possessions that surround us have a significant effect on our well-being, just as the weight of the pilgrim’s possessions can impact his journey. All of our possessions have joined us on our journey at one point. Whether their arrival was met with excitement, obligation, or indifference, anything that continues to be in our possession is still with us on our journey, no matter how deep and dark the closet is in which we try to hide it.
We could all benefit from lightening our load, as far as possessions go. And as is the case with the pilgrim, that doesn’t mean only keeping the things that are “necessary” in practical terms. It also means that we should hold onto the possessions that bring us life and nourish our souls. Beauty and remembrance meet needs of their own. However, deciding what stays and what goes isn’t an easy task. That’s why (again, as with the pilgrim) we have to pay attention to our daily journeys in order to discern which possessions are of true value to us and which ones are ultimately a burden.
For many of us, lightening the load is a great task that can take hours, days, months, and maybe (gulp!) years. But it is a necessary task if we want to live as pilgrims in the everyday, being good stewards of our resources and conscious of our possessions. There are a lot of great resources and suggestions out there about how to begin the minimizing process (there’s even an entire minimalist movement), and it’s up to you as to how to begin. I want to leave you with a suggestion that can help you begin lightening your load right now: start with just one thing a day.
PRACTICE
Each day, identify one thing that you don’t need or use anymore and put it in an “outbox”–a designated box of things to sell, donate, or give to someone else. At the end of the month, get rid of the items inside. I have a feeling that if you start small like this, you’ll find it to be an easy and liberating process, and you might just be surprised by the things you no longer need or desire as your journey continues.
REFLECTION
What are some possessions you have that enrich your journey, bringing you life? Which possessions are burdensome items whose absence would lighten your spiritual and emotional load? Take action by placing these things in your outbox today.
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This post was an excerpt from
Pilgrim Principles: Journeying with Intention in Everyday Life,
releasing January 6, 2014.
Come back next Wednesday for another free preview!
