Life Giving Part 4
April 11, 2025
Climbing the mound pyramids at Moundville, Alabama.
It is life-giving to explore new places. Many of us have cool places to visit right in our backyard. In my area of Alabama, some exciting places are within driving distance. Practically at our back door is Cheaha Mountain, the highest peak in Alabama. It has terrific views. Just south of us is Desoto Caverns. It was once the setting for a movie and was a speakeasy during prohibition. In the caverns, there is one room that is 10 stories high.
The Equality and Peace Memorial and the Equal Justice Initiative museums are only a bit further south in Montgomery. The tickets include a boat ride up the Alabama River to visit a heart-moving sculpture garden depicting the plight of our enslaved peoples. In Birmingham, we can visit the statue of Vulcan and climb the 180-foot-high pedestal to see 360 degrees around the entire area. Near Tuscaloosa, there are ancient pyramids made of dirt and clay. These tall mounds, in the shapes of pyramids akin to those in Mexico and South America, were built thousands of years ago by Alabama’s indigenous people.
Near Jasper, at Double Springs, Alabama, is Alabama’s Natural Bridge, which spans 148 feet and is 60 feet high. Near "Natural Bridge" in Alabama, you can see the bioluminescent creatures called "Dismalites" at Dismals Canyon, a nature conservatory in Northwest Alabama, a National Natural Landmark. These glow worms are found nowhere else in the world.
I believe that just about any location has rare sights and unique experiences if we search for them. But going to these locations is life-giving only if we intend to receive new life. Going to places for educational or social reasons only does not ensure that they will be life-giving. But suppose we have a spiritual intention behind any hike, journey, trip, or adventure. In that case, we experience not only the educational and social aspects but the numinous qualities of the experience. We see it through the eyes of the soul.
We see the place and our experience through the lens of redemption, human evolution, and the human condition. If we use this approach, all our trips become pilgrimages. A pilgrimage is a journey to a holy place. Any destination to which we venture may become a holy place if our intention is to see what God is unfolding there and what God is unfolding in us while we are there. That gives us life.
Spiritual practice: Read Phil Cousineau’s classic work, The Art of Pilgrimage. What does it say to you about spiritual journeys?
Self-inquiry: What spiritual need or desire is being fulfilled when you take a trip with a spiritual intention?
Dear God,
Please guide me to the living waters where I hope to drink of you and see new vistas with new life. Amen
