The past couple of days I have been out on the road for some meetings. It got me thinking about the way I too often approach the old “hitting the road.” It has definitely changed over the years. I remember the days of “road trips,” heading out on the open road and reveling in the “feeling” of roaming and the excitement of seeing new things with fresh eyes.

Fast forward to yesterday, driving a familiar stretch of road I reflected on the “difference” between hitting the road with a “road trip mentality” and as merely a means to an end. I often drive and travel only as a means to an end. As I drive, I calculate how long I have to go, I think about the next milestone I can look forward to, I rehearse conversations of bygone times, I plan ways to solve problems or “get ahead,” I watch the clock to ensure I am making “good time,” etc. In the meantime, I miss the moments and scenery that surrounds me - they passby at 70 mph without any awareness, acknowledgement or appreciation.

Not engaging in the now, instead I either retreat to “relive” the past or focus on what’s next. The road trip dissolves into merely a means to another end, the beauty and present moments are lost as I careen across the landscape.

The painful realization doesn’t stop there. I face the truth that road trips degenerating into a means to an end is symptomatic of a much larger blindspot. I can often slip into this same way of living in general — skimming through my everyday life. I often am found living at the surface of life. Not engaging the moment, instead becoming distracted or unaware of the NOW by rehearsing the past or anticipating the future. Not allowing the present moment to get past my skin.

Maybe this resonates with you. Being too “busy” or too distracted to go beyond the surface of things. Unable to engage the present with our whole selves - with our mind, heart, and soul. Unaware of the present tense because the “now” is only a means to some other more “desireable end” or is less preferable to some greener grass over the next knoll.

These thoughts really challenge me. I want to be more present to the present moment. More available and aware of what is going on now, allowing the past to be that - past; and trusting God with tomorrow (cause you know what Jesus says about that, see Matthew 6:34). I want to be more emotionally, spiritually and physically aware and available to what is taking place right now - alive to creation, people and The Mystery. Living beyond the circumferences and edges and plunging into the heart of the moment, present to the presence of others and the Other.

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ (Acts 17:26-28)

How do we move from skimming through life to get to some desired end; to plunging whole-heartedly into the present moment? One suggestion is to use a “breath prayer.” A breath prayer is a short statement directed toward God we can easily say and return to regularly from memory. It is a prayer that helps us remember the Sacred and the sacredness of every moment. Remembering and reciting this prayer pulls us from the circumference to the center. We can practice this simple prayer by regularly rehearsing the words from Acts 17, “For in him we live and move and have our being.” Or we can pray the Jesus prayer which is one I find very helpful. There are a number of different versions of this oft prayed prayer, the one I recite is from the Angiican tradition. I find myself praying this many times during any given day, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.”

Praying a breath prayer as a discipline throughout the day has a way of stopping us and helping us enter the present moment. We become aware of the now; we acknowledge with our heart, mind and soul the moment we are in, and we stop anticipating, worrying or being concerned with “what’s next.” As we use this practice of a breath prayer, God can help all of us be more present to what He is doing in the moment and what He might want us to learn in this moment. Slow down and punctuate your life using a breath prayer that we might all catch the beauty of where we are, right now.

There are other antidotes to our skimming ways; to our, “are we there yet?” mentalities of tripping through life. If you are inclined, take time to share other antidotes you have found - add them to the comments; or shoot me an email, I would love to dialogue further on this topic! In the meantime, I hope you will find the breath prayer as one helpful suggestion to accompany you as you travel life’s highways. So road trip through life - enjoy the scenery - be present to the now. The now is where I want to be, where I can be present to The Presence.

“My father was a wandering Aramean…” (Deut. 26.5)

With this declaration the people of God entered Jerusalem on pilgrimage to the Feast of Tabernacles. Three times a year God called His people to pilgrimage from their homes to the City on the Hill. Each festival was a reminder of God’s great actions in their history. At Passover they were reminded of God delivering them from Egypt; at Pentecost they were reminded of God’s giving them the Law on Mount Sinai; and at the Festival of Tabernacles they were reminded of the wilderness wanderings.

At the heart of pilgrimage and at the center of these festivals celebrated in Jerusalem Israel was reminded of an integral part of her identity. The people of God, Israel, were marked as aliens and strangers in this world. They were a people on the move following after a God who is on the move. A people not merely rooted in this world, but a people who are a part of a larger kingdom than the geographic boundaries of Palestine could contain (or limit). A people who are to sense a greater loyalty to God’s will and way than to “citizenship in this world.”

How do we see our identity in God? Do we consider this aspect of being part of a family of wanderers?

Wandering Arameans: from Father Abraham to Ruth to our Lord Jesus, our heritage has been one of wandering from one place to another. The hallmark of our faith has been following after a God of mystery who is on the move - and we are to be found in the space between here and there (on pilgrimage). Am I too wed to place? Am I unresponsive to the movement of God and His people due to my being rooted (the security of the familiar) and unprepared to “go where He leads”? Am I mired in my surroundings to the degree that my identity is wrapped up in my place and circumstances?

How can I remind myself of my identity as a pilgrim? What practices can help me in my desire to remain pliable under God’s direction and sensitive to God’s movement?

I would love to hear your thoughts on our heritage as pilgrims.