Home
News and Info
Looking Glass
Caregiver Stories
Stories
Poetry
Contributors
Resources
Contact
to donate to Breathing Room
Breathing Room has lots in store
for the year. If you would like to share your personal
stories, news items or poetry with us, please contact:
us at: info at thebreathingroom.org.
Stories, Poems
and opinions of participants are their own, and not necessarily
those of the Breathing Room organization.
Please visit
cfmessageboard.com to connect with members of the CF
community online.
Breathing Room
facilitates candid and open
communication between adults with Cystic Fibrosis,
supports the development of a community of adults with CF
and provides education and insight for families, caregivers,
and medical professionals who impact our lives.
|
|
Spirit Medicine: Road Trip! Continued
Another version of the road trip that has also been spirit medicine is the traditional pilgrimage, which comes from the medieval Christian practice of visiting a holy place or site. Such travels were often thought to puritfy the soul, whether to make up for negative behavior, or enlighten and encourage. Pilgramages can be secular, like going to the theater, museums, or to any special event, or specifically spiritual, such as a retreat, workshop or convention; they can be anything you want them to be. There is an outdoor labyrinth not far from my home that I hope to walk as I meditate on the recent transitions in my life; it may only be an experience of an hour or so, but it will be a kind of pilgrimage.
One pilgrimage that still stands out in my memory is the trip I took with my parents to Lourdes, France when I was ten years old. Raised Roman Catholic, my parents wanted to take me to this popular shrine of healing where according to a French teenager named Bernadette Soubirous in 1858, Our Lady had appeared and told her to drink and wash from a healing spring. I knew this story by heart by the time I arrived, but I was totally unprepared for what I encountered.
I had never seen so many people with health problems, who were affected physically in one way or another. To my young eyes, it seemed like every few people. Eventually, I started to notice their faces and eyes. Most were very loving and kind. They were relaxed, unselfconscious, peaceful. Each one had traveled the distance for their own reason, with their own prayers, stayed for their own length of time. By the time I left there a few days later, after having bathed in the cool mountian spring, I was a changed person. I never felt alone with CF in the same way again. I knew there were so many other people who were dealing with something. And I saw joy and courage despite tremendous challenges. It was a beautiful inner healing experience. Someday I would like to return to Lourdes, post transplant if possible, to mark a life of appreciation and wonder.
|
|
|
