The Call

In the words of Marianne Williamson: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Friday, October 22, 2004

Travels with the Bacons

Travels with the Bacons
by Charlotte
October 22, 2004

We are very excited about our new blog "The Heroes' Journey". We are thankful to our very special friend, Elizabeth, for encouraging us to do this. (who the heck knew what a blog was? ) According to one estimate, there are about 2.5 MILLION blogs on the net today.

For a number of years now we have been writing about our journey and sharing it via personal letters, email and the occasional travel newsletter. Our new blog will give us a place to share about our travels and the special people, places and lessons we learn along the way. If you are part of our "family", we welcome you to look in on us each week and find out what we are up to. If you are new to our blog, we welcome you to our "extended family".

Today we are in Sacramento, CA. We have been house sitting in Midtown for a delightful couple who are spending 3 months in Europe. Yep! this is another housecarer job! Their Craftsman style home was built in 1916 and has been tastefully modernized. We are within walking distance of shopping, restaurants and coffee shops. It is a neighborhood of quiet, tree-lined streets with a real sense of community. We still prefer the pastoral life of the country but this is very enjoyable. Next week we will begin packing for our next adventure which takes us first to Grass Valley, CA and then on to the northwest once again. This time to Port Townsend, WA.

During our stay here, we have been blessed to be part of a very special spiritual community. If you are ever in Sacramento, be sure to visit the Spiritual Life Center downtown. They are part of the Unity Church community. We have been blessed to be able to help build a Habitat for Humanity house while we are here. We are often the only ones working during the week except for the contractor in charge, Mike. He is a really nice fellow. We are working on the roof..... not too much competition for that job during the summer in Sacramento. Larry worked with his dad putting on roofs and so he thought this would be a good job for us. We get here very early in the morning and start our day sitting up on the roof watching life around us; kids headed to school, people headed to work, buses going by, barking dogs, joggers..... well, you get the idea. We work all morning and then come down around noon when the heat gets pretty intense. On the weekends when most folks show up to pitch in we have a password to qualify for working on the roof or rather a song.... they have to be able to sing or hum at least a few bars from "Up On The Roof". That is our theme song for this summer.

Right now we are participating in an annual churchwide program called Faith In Action. As part of that, each Sunday, we sing a special song together. When we arrived in Sacramento we found ourselves needing to stop for awhile, for rest and contemplation. We wanted time to think about where we had been and where we were headed, both in our lives and geographically. This song speaks of our chosen journey and we want to share the words with you.

I Am On A Journey ~ words and music by Richard Burdick

I am on a journey to my true self
Today my sacred journey starts
I am on a journey to find God's love
I am on a journey to my heart

I am on a journey to find wholeness
Today my sacred journey starts
I am on a journey through the mystery
I am on a journey to my heart

I am more
than all I can see
Digging deep I find the truth

In my soul
I find the Divine
The same sacred Spirit that's in you

I am on a journey to find heaven
Today my sacred journey starts
There is love and beauty every moment
On my sacred journey to my heart

I am on a journey to awaken
Today my sacred journey starts
Take my hand and you can travel with me
On this sacred journey to the heart
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