I heard a tagline aired recently in a Fountain Tire commercial: “We’re on this road together.” Are we not more deeply aware that we are travelling on the road of life together? Hourly, we witness in TV-land multiple local, national, and global realities. However, we often experience ourselves as restless travel companions. Frequently, I hear my table companions utter, “I can’t watch the news anymore.” On CPAN, we witness our politicians acting childishly. Oftentimes, we hear truth substituted by lies and half- truths.
Amid the continual global chaos and evolving crises, we struggle with the temptation to pull over and stop. We easily identify with the words penned by the novelist, Oliver Goldsmith,
“Life is a journey that must be traveled no matter how bad the roads and accommodations.”
Perhaps the words of Dag Hammarskjöld set the course for an authentic response to the bombardments of the daily newscasts.
The brilliant diplomat succinctly captures where we discover ourselves wandering. In seven, ordinary words, Hammarskjold profoundly states, “The longest journey is the journey inwards.”
As virtual and emotional globetrotters, bereft of modes of travel, we are left to our own devices. We soon discover ourselves pulled into an inner soul quest. Part of my daily soul quest is to set aside quiet time for dedicated soul searching where I can seek to untangle my thoughts and feelings. This quiet time of self reflection allows me to avoid the temptation to pull over and stop. Instead, I am in a better position, if challenged, to give as Peter says, “a reason for my hope.” (Peter 3:15)
On the road again
I just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is making music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again -Willie Nelson
by Sister Nancy Wales, CSJ