Trekking the Great "I Am"

I awoke to the sound of my cell phone at 5:47 am on Friday morning only to find no one there as I went to answer it. I did not recognize the number and did not bother to hit redial on my phone. I guessed that if it was important enough they would call back. That is how my day began, but not after one of the shortest nights of my life. It was one of those times in which I have wrestled inside with what I call “demons of the mind and soul.” Once fully awake and over the event, I set out to a special place to watch the sun rise and gain some perspective. Christ had his Garden of Gethsemane and I have found my own place to seek refuge; if only for a short time. I call it ‘spiritual trekking.”

Trekking is defined as someone who pursues a long and arduous journey, most often on foot. It typically refers to trekking through mountainous areas by foot so that one can revel in the marvelous scenery. In the Book of Exodus Moses climbs Mount Horeb to investigate a mysterious burning bush. Once there, he finds holy ground and receives a great commission from God to rescue the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt. Though my special place is nowhere near Mount Horeb or the Middle East, it is a high place to trek, see the beauty of the countryside below and seek a different kind of perspective on life. Some people seek the sanctuary of a church, mosque or synagogue to find spiritual enlightenment or answers to the conflict of faith and the realities of life on earth. These are fine places for communal prayer and faith sharing, but sometimes a walk in the outdoors can provide the individual with the spiritual food not found behind closed doors.

I wrote a poem once titled “Forest Cathedral” in which I describe a scene along a stretch of river where I once considered doing some canoeing. What I found was an orphan cemetery from an old county home that no longer exists. I remember sitting down on a tree stump and imagining these orphan children playing and hoping for a family to come adopt them. Unfortunately, for various reasons, they died before their hopes were fulfilled. There were rocks and pennies left beside the grave markers as some form of respect or homage to the dreams of a childhood lost. Now I wonder how much more can come from trekking the great “I Am.”

In new age spirituality we find this concept of “I Am” as God living in and being a part of every human being. According to some like Wayne Dyer, we can say “I am God” and be perfectly justified in speaking as such. It is not so foreign a concept if we take a moment to realize that this is very true in a sense that we are mind, body and spirit just as God is one with Jesus his son and the Holy Spirit in which the original Disciples of Christ received at Pentecost. They traveled with Jesus on foot and learned the true meaning to the parables and stories in which their teacher used to convey his message of good news to the world. And so, Trekking the great “I Am” becomes my quest and new spiritual tool in which to find peace and meaning to life. Peace. Witt