You arrived here without luggage.
You will leave the same way.
Between those two moments is a journey called LIFE.
The question is not whether you are passing through.
You are.
The question is:
HOW WILL YOU TRAVEL?
THE SOJOURNER — WE ARE ONLY PASSING THROUGH
Greetings and well wishes to all whose paths cross mine.
SOJOURNER…
A temporary resident.
MMMMM?
Quite appropriate when you consider how every human being comes and goes from this Earth.
We arrive.
We stay awhile.
We experience.
We contribute.
We accumulate.
We release.
Then eventually…
WE MOVE ON.
That makes every one of us a traveler.
A guest.
A temporary resident.
A SOJOURNER.
LOOK AT THIS PLACE
I often think about this little ball we call Earth.
There it is…
Suspended in the vastness.
Other planets surround us.
Some appear barren.
Silent.
Hostile to the kind of life we know.
And then…
EARTH.
Water.
Clouds.
Trees.
Animals.
People.
Oceans.
Mountains.
Weather.
Food.
Color.
Sound.
Movement.
Trillions upon trillions of living interactions.
Earth seems to shout:
LOOK AT ME.
SOMETHING IS HAPPENING HERE.
Are you in awe?
Do you wonder?
Good.
Perhaps you’re paying attention.
THE CALLING CARD
To me, creation itself acts like a calling card.
It does not answer every question.
Far from it.
Instead…
It creates MORE questions.
Why life?
Why consciousness?
Why beauty?
Why love?
Why conscience?
Why are we able to look at creation…
and wonder about the Creator?
There is enough mystery here to occupy an inquisitive person for a lifetime.
Perhaps longer.
DENIAL OR DISCOVERY?
We can spend tremendous energy denying mystery…
or we can investigate it.
I prefer investigation.
Ask.
Seek.
Knock.
Observe.
Wonder.
Sit quietly.
Listen.
You don’t have to understand the whole universe before becoming grateful for your place in it.
Sometimes knowing that something exceeds your understanding is itself a lesson in humility.
THE LIMITS OF OUR EQUIPMENT
We begin with the brain.
The emotions.
The five senses.
Marvelous equipment.
But even these have boundaries.
There are sounds we cannot hear.
Light we cannot see.
Distances we cannot comprehend.
Mysteries beyond measurement.
So when we approach life’s deepest questions…
HOW?
WHY?
WHO?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
Perhaps the answer requires more than information.
Perhaps it also requires…
INSIGHT.
INSTRUCTION.
REVELATION.
THE KNOWING PLACE
There is a place inside the human being that seems different from ordinary thinking.
A deeper knowing.
Sometimes you cannot explain why something is right…
but you KNOW.
Sometimes you cannot prove why something is wrong…
but something inside objects.
Sometimes you encounter beauty and words disappear.
You don’t analyze it.
You receive it.
That deep inner place has fascinated mankind for generations.
Conscience.
Spirit.
Soul.
Whatever language helps you approach it…
Take care of it.
THE INVITATION
Here is how I sometimes imagine my own existence.
Long before I knew anything…
My name somehow appeared on an invitation list.
Then…
I arrived.
EARTH.
No explanation.
No orientation seminar.
No owner’s manual sitting beside me.
Just…
LIFE.
And the more I became aware…
the more extraordinary the invitation became.
I can see.
Hear.
Touch.
Move.
Think.
Love.
Explore.
Question.
Laugh.
Cry.
Create.
Remember.
Imagine.
Wonder.
I was invited…
TO LIFE.
That realization alone can produce gratitude.
A GUEST IN SOMEONE ELSE’S HOUSE
Suppose this world is not actually ours.
Suppose we are guests.
That changes the attitude.
Guests don’t normally walk into someone else’s house and announce:
THIS IS ALL MINE.
A good guest uses what is provided respectfully.
Enjoys it.
Appreciates it.
Doesn’t intentionally destroy things.
And hopefully…
thanks the Host.
MMMMM?
Maybe stewardship begins with remembering:
WE ARE VISITORS.
THE MOTION MACHINE
Look at the human body.
What a traveling system.
Feet for movement.
Hands for involvement.
Eyes for observation.
Ears for receiving.
A voice for expression.
A brain capable of learning.
A heart capable of attachment.
We were not designed merely to sit still and wait for the end.
We are equipped to travel.
Wonder.
Inquire.
Experience.
Contribute.
Help.
Love.
Build.
And discover.
So I journey.
Eyes open.
Ears open.
Hopefully…
heart open too.
THE INNER PROMPTING
Along the road, something happens.
You begin noticing a quiet prompting.
Go here.
Don’t go there.
Speak.
Be silent.
Help.
Stop.
Apologize.
Tell the truth.
Walk away.
Wait.
That inner prompting can be ignored.
But ignoring it does not necessarily make it disappear.
I came to understand that conscience as something worthy of great care.
Because if the outer journey ends…
what kind of inner traveler arrives at the end?
That’s worth thinking about.
THE SOUL AS STEWARDSHIP
If I have been entrusted with a soul…
then perhaps it is the most valuable thing temporarily placed in my care.
What feeds it?
Truth.
Goodness.
Mercy.
Justice.
Fairness.
Humility.
Love.
Service.
Gratitude.
What starves it?
Dishonesty.
Cruelty.
Greed.
Hatred.
Willful harm.
Indifference.
Perhaps part of the earthly journey is discovering this difference through experience.
And sometimes…
through mistakes.
SEEK THE RIGHT THINGS
Something inside continually points me toward:
GOODNESS.
TRUTH.
DECENCY.
HONESTY.
FAIRNESS.
JUSTICE.
MERCY.
Not merely for myself.
FOR OTHERS TOO.
Why?
Because the right thing has a strange quality.
It rewards the person doing it…
even when no one applauds.
Sometimes doing what is right becomes its own prayer.
Its own worship.
Its own expression of gratitude.
THE HOST
If someone invites you into their home…
eventually gratitude wants a name.
THANK YOU.
So it is with life.
The deeper I travel…
the more I want to know the One responsible for the invitation.
Who created this?
Who thought of life?
Who created wonder?
Who created the mind capable of asking who created it?
Now the journey becomes personal.
Not merely:
WHAT IS GOD?
But:
WHO IS THE ONE I AM SEEKING?
THE SECOND INVITATION
Many faith traditions hold that this earthly visit is not the entire story.
That there is more.
An eternal home.
A continuation.
A return.
A meeting with the Author.
I cannot package eternity into a formula.
But I can seek.
And I can live in such a way that if another invitation awaits…
I have spent this visit preparing myself to receive it.
That changes how temporary things are viewed.
Money becomes temporary.
Status becomes temporary.
Possessions become temporary.
Even physical strength…
temporary.
Character becomes much more interesting.
OBSTACLES TEST THE TRAVELER
Every journey has resistance.
Distraction.
Temptation.
Failure.
Pain.
Greed.
Pride.
Doubt.
Fear.
Things that appear almost designed to pull us away from what matters.
But something interesting happens.
Those obstacles can strengthen the traveler.
When you fall…
you learn to rise.
When temptation appears…
you discover what you value.
When you wander…
you learn what home means.
Even adversity may unintentionally testify:
WHAT YOU ARE SEEKING IS WORTH PROTECTING.
THE RICHIE REVERSE
Imagine living as though you’re staying forever.
Accumulate everything.
Possess everything.
Control everything.
Win everything.
Then one day…
you have to leave everything.
MMMMM?
Now reverse it.
Suppose you remember from the beginning:
I AM PASSING THROUGH.
How would you treat people?
How tightly would you hold possessions?
Would you forgive faster?
Would you waste less time?
Would you appreciate more?
Would you worry quite as much about things that do not travel with you?
Maybe remembering we are temporary residents…
helps us become better permanent souls.
NEVER TO RETURN THIS WAY AGAIN
Here is what makes the journey precious.
You do not get this exact day again.
This exact age.
This exact conversation.
This exact gathering of people.
This exact sunrise.
This exact chance to do the right thing.
Tomorrow may come…
but TODAY never returns in precisely the same form.
So travel well.
Travel deep.
Explore.
Learn.
Love.
Help.
Correct yourself.
Forgive.
Give thanks.
And when the road becomes confusing…
listen again for that quiet inner direction.
FINAL THOUGHT
I came here with nothing.
I will leave the material world behind.
Between arrival and departure…
I have been given something magnificent:
A TURN.
A turn to live.
A turn to love.
A turn to seek.
A turn to choose.
A turn to know God.
A turn to become.
So while I am here…
I want to travel with gratitude.
And when my temporary residency is complete…
I hope the simplest words will be enough:
THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
For I know this much…
I am never to return this exact way again.
I AM A SOJOURNER.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
Been expecting you