"It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” - Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness
Tomorrow I begin my sabbatical, my wife Lois accompanying me. Two months encircling the Mediterranean, all in places we have never been: Spain, Morocco, Israel, Jordan, Italy and Austria. A dream come true, a once-in-a-lifetime adventure that has been made possible by the generosity of others: the Diocese of Olympia and Bishop Rickel, St. Andrew's House Advisory Committee, St. Andrew's staff, and as a final gift, Lois' dear mother Eleanor, who passed away from us this summer and left us funds that made this extravagance not be as fatal to our savings account.
To prepare for the journey, I am reading Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity, by David Whyte. I discovered it via a simple recommendation made recently, and it is hitting the spot. I will be keeping a journal throughout the trip, from which I will be sharing new posts to this blog. From Whyte:
"It is the profound metaphor for a poet, of course: just the weight of a piece of paper, a blank piece of paper every moment, or even to begin with, just once a day, every day. But it is a metaphor for every work and every person. A steadily building field of activity, laid down almost imperceptibly, layer upon layer, which creates a world and at the same time prepares us for an appearance in that world."
I invite you to walk along, as you wish.
Director Dan Oberg
27 December 2022