The Spiritual Journey: One inch at a time

When hiking in the Sierra Nevada, I like to photograph the ducks. No, not birds. Markers. Trails in the Sierra often traverse granite faces, and the only way to find the way is to look for rocks stacked on top of rocks, called "ducks." And as a courtesy to other hikers, it is always good to add a rock or build another duck or fix one that has toppled. It is like tending to the spiritual journey, one rock at a time. The photo at right is a duck on the trail up Mount Hoffman in Yosemite. And here is a poem, a gift from Karen in Tennessee, to get you to the end of the week:

A Spiritual Journey 

by Wendell Berry

 

And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles,

no matter how long,

but only by a spiritual journey,

a journey of one inch,

very arduous and humbling and joyful,

by which we arrive at the ground at our feet,

and learn to be at home.