Looking for God, in all places

A philosopher of religion said that if you look at the history of all religions, they almost all begin with one massive mistake. They make a clean split between the sacred and the profane. Then all the emphasis is

placed on going to the sacred spaces, creating sacred time and sacred actions, and ninety-eight percent of life then remains “unsacred.” This is at the heart of the problem. This is why so many people have

such a hard time encountering the holy. These are not insincere people. They’re people who were told to look only in a very few places for God.   Richard Rohr

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Beauty before me

Beauty behind me

With beauty all around me

I walk

                                Navaho Chant

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life happens

O does it happen!

and eyes to the ground

I stumble and struggle

like a weary climber

so tired

that he can see only the step in front of him

one so tired she can

only look as far as the next turn

in the trail

there is that place

that holy place

sanctuary

where God is

if only I can get there

sanctuary

and while I toil

the trees alongside the trail soar to the heavens

the stream dances and sings

as it makes its way down the mountain

birds soar

and snowcapped peaks

shine in a brilliant blue sky

I am surrounded by the holy

with each step I have arrived

the sanctuary is around me

the sanctuary is within me

I live in the sacred

I carry the sacred

I need only to stop

and breathe

and

see