Saunter

I was hiking up Silver Peak in Killarney Provincial Park this past September.  I was going slow, partially because this was supposed to be a rest day in a multiday canoe trip, but also so I could take in the beauty of Killarney.  As I moved along, taking it all in, I was reminded of a John Muir quote: 

"Hiking - I don't like either the word or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains - not hike! Do you know the origin of that word 'saunter?' It's a beautiful word. Away back in the Middle Ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going, they would reply, "A la sainte terre,' 'To the Holy Land.' And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers. Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not 'hike' through them." 

A few days later while “sauntering” up “The Crack” trail, I came across an older couple moving even slower than me and stopping to enjoy even the smallest piece of beauty.  We started talking about the joy of going slow on the trail.  I told them about my recollection of the John Muir quote, and they loved it.  (They also loved my “Sloth Cycling Team - We’ll get there when we get there” T-shirt!) They told me stories of taking their time on The Camino while others marched by to get to their destination. We agreed that in order to experience beauty and the holiness of a place you had to saunter.

It got me thinking that any trip that we take can become a pilgrimage if we saunter - if we move slowly, aware of the beauty and the holiness as we move.  Any trip that we take can become a pilgrimage if we saunter - if we are aware that we are walking in the presence of God, and we are on our way to His Kingdom.

When we pair our lives with Jesus, we are welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven (la sainte terre), we learn to live in the Kingdom of Heaven, and we begin our journey to the Kingdom of Heaven.  Even if we are sitting still, we are on our way  "a la sainte terre.” Sauntering is not just about moving slowly, it is also about a deep awareness about where we are, and where we are going.

Do not hurry

As you walk through life

It does not help the journey

Walk slowly, 

Pausing often:

Do not hurry

As you walk through life.

Be gentle with the land.

Be gentle with one another.

Be gentle with yourself.

Swiftly forgive;

Walk slowly

Pausing often.

Take time, be gentle

As you walk “a la sainte terre.”  

                        * adapted greatly from “Walking With Grief” – from Celtic Daily Prayers