{"id":45143,"date":"2014-05-01T08:32:36","date_gmt":"2014-05-01T13:32:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=45143"},"modified":"2019-02-12T01:50:20","modified_gmt":"2019-02-12T07:50:20","slug":"travel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2014\/05\/travel\/","title":{"rendered":"Travel by heart"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cTravel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness… \u00a0wholesome, charitable views\u2026 cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner …\u201d<\/em>
\n ~Mark Twain<\/em><\/p>\n

This is true. However, \u00a0one can travel without leaving town. \u00a0Consider the borders of social and economic boundaries, \u00a0roles we occupy that keep us from knowing one another, our self protective measures in the face of suffering. \u00a0To brush aside convention and fear in favor of love and adventure; this is travel by heart. I don’t know about you, but without it, I tend to create my own world and risk losing sight of the Gospel.<\/p>\n

The rule of this travel is: Anything that softens your heart is a good thing. Anything that hardens the heart should be avoided. Cultivate a receptive heart to be a well -rounded traveler. Learn to ignore what doesn\u2019t matter to go places no one has ever been before.\"IMG_0826\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Get to know a “Welfare Mom.” Be friends with an “illegal” human being. Hold someone who is dying. Breath deeply of another’s world. \u00a0Sometimes I am still embarrassed, scared or don’t know what to say, but I have tried walking through the doors when I see them, \u00a0making a pilgrimage to the holy shrine of human encounter.<\/p>\n

It’s kind of a crazy place.<\/p>\n

Once, an elderly lady I was obediently and routinely spoon- feeding, \u00a0smiled, picked up her spoon, and started feeding me! We looked at each other and laughed.<\/p>\n

Moments like this happen all the time in life. What if you made a habit of paying attention to their opportunities every day? You would be a seasoned back packer through worlds unknown. Maybe you already are.<\/p>\n

Sometimes you will not want to make the trip.<\/p>\n

Tradition dictated I invite \u201call\u201d my \u201cfriends, neighbors and family\u201d to my house blessing. I thought, \u201cNot<\/em> the druggie guys next door.\u201d But I did invite them. They looked great, all smiles, clean and dressed up, obviously totally honored to have been invited. That was humbling. Being humbled feels great.<\/p>\n

Make the trip.<\/p>\n

I met a young mom who had to scramble to find a house to clean or a lawn to mow to get dinner on the table for her kids at times when her meager supply of food stamps ran out. LeAnn became a good friend. I would have missed knowing a true poet, missed a beautiful friendship, if she and I had maintained the customary boundaries between \u201chelper and helped.\u201d She would have missed me too.<\/p>\n

An elderly man I met during my CNA training enchanted me with his serene playfulness, his big blue eyes. We had fun together while I changed his sheets. \u201cI\u2019ve never met anyone like you before!\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cI\u2019ve never met anybody like you either!\u201d I said. \u201cI think I want to marry you!\u201d \u201cI want to marry you too!\u201d We didn\u2019t get married. But we remain good friends years later. Jim is an extraordinary and inspiring person. To think I could have changed the sheets and walked out of his life!<\/p>\n

The mother of one of my daughter\u2019s friends, who is very ill, allowed me to do a few, small acts of service for her. Her courage, humor and kindness have inspired me. She has put a human face on the term, \u201cIllegal immigrant,\u201d for me. Coming to know her has taught me that only what God sees matters. Only His will, His law, which is always, love, matters at all.<\/p>\n

Early in my job, talking to my boss, Gretchen, suddenly it seemed I was seeing how lovely she is to God. It was magical, a holy moment, a total gift. \u00a0Now I know by experience that she really is lovely, and, fortunately for bungling little me, she is a world class traveler! She saw past my brokenness, past the employer-employee relationship, to let me try even when it was scary for her to do. \u00a0Her trust helped me grow.<\/p>\n

A tendency to travel by heart can help you stay close to someone you love very much even when his journey becomes painful and frightening.<\/p>\n

I held my husband, Bob, as he died. I went with him as far as I could until he was gone. All I or anyone else there felt was the overpowering presence of Love. As anyone who has done this can tell you, you can experience love and joy even when death comes, if you just let your heart be there. All that is left is love and you\u2019re not scared anymore.<\/p>\n

Habitual focus on what is human and real made me able to connect with my mom in new ways and walk with her through her dementia. It sounds crazy but we had a really good time. It was grace.<\/p>\n

Love is its own wisdom, and God Himself IS love. Love covers all the territory. By love, you learn that the universe resides in each human heart, even your own, and that the journey never ends.<\/p>\n

That is the kind of trip I love most, because of the peace, transformation, and joy it brings- a trip across borders God does not acknowledge, to that place where the last is first and the first is last and neither even thinks about it because only one thing matters.<\/p>\n

So don\u2019t be afraid to cross the borders. Explore, and love. The fence is imaginary and God is on the other side.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cTravel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness… \u00a0wholesome, charitable views\u2026 cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner …\u201d ~Mark Twain This is true. However, \u00a0one can travel without leaving town. \u00a0Consider the borders of social and economic boundaries, \u00a0roles we occupy that keep us from knowing one another, our self protective measures… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-45143","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blog","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":577215,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2017\/12\/spiritual-nourishment-for-the-last-week-of-advent\/","url_meta":{"origin":45143,"position":0},"title":"Spiritual Nourishment for the Last Week of Advent","author":"Rachel","date":"December 18, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"On the last leg of this Advent journey, I'd like to share with you two little bits of spiritual nourishment that I have found really helpful along the way. 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Can you feel\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/800px-Meister_der_Kahriye-Cami-Kirche_in_Istanbul_004-550x400.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/800px-Meister_der_Kahriye-Cami-Kirche_in_Istanbul_004-550x400.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/800px-Meister_der_Kahriye-Cami-Kirche_in_Istanbul_004-550x400.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":186756,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/12\/sunrise-dark-faith-advent-brightness-christmas\/","url_meta":{"origin":45143,"position":1},"title":"Sunrise: through the dark faith of Advent to the brightness of Christmas","author":"Shawn Rain Chapman","date":"December 15, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Traveling through Advent with grief this year has led to me to soul search about what Christmas is, and, in the process, to notice similarities between the journey of Advent into Christmas and the stages of the soul's progression into the heart of God. \u00a0According to Carmelite spirituality, \u00a0the soul\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"photo by Renee Bork","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/12016594_10205918857824426_849206572_n-550x413.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/12016594_10205918857824426_849206572_n-550x413.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/12016594_10205918857824426_849206572_n-550x413.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":302094,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2016\/09\/go-joseph-gen-4155\/","url_meta":{"origin":45143,"position":2},"title":"Go to Joseph (Gen. 41:55)","author":"Deacon Guadalupe Rodriguez","date":"September 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"On March 4, 2004 in my sixth year of law enforcement, I was involved in a car chase that spanned four counties and ended in a shoot-out with a man carrying drugs worth half a million dollars. \u00a0 Traveling at 100 mph in my police vehicle a tire blew out.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Go to Joseph","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/GotoJoseph-550x288.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/GotoJoseph-550x288.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/GotoJoseph-550x288.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":127643,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/07\/mary-sister-of-the-carmelite-soul\/","url_meta":{"origin":45143,"position":3},"title":"Mary, Sister of the Carmelite Soul","author":"Shawn Rain Chapman","date":"July 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"We are holding hands as we walk together along a rocky path on a hot July evening. We are talking about this and that. She asks me questions, listens thoughtfully as I talk about my life. She has a lot going on too, these days, and she unburdens her heart\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"photo S.C.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/1919164_1306332622854_6920017_n-550x440.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/1919164_1306332622854_6920017_n-550x440.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/1919164_1306332622854_6920017_n-550x440.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":195443,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2016\/01\/reflections-of-a-catholic-mom-on-her-daughters-1st-birthday\/","url_meta":{"origin":45143,"position":4},"title":"Reflections of a Catholic Mom on her Daughter’s 1st Birthday","author":"Britt Echtenkamp","date":"January 4, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"1 year ago, I was laying in a hospital room wondering what just happened. 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