Some time ago, a tourist from the US visited the famous Polish rabbi Hafez Hayyim

He was astonished to see that the rabbi's home was only a simple room filled with books. The only furniture was a table and a bench.

"Rabbi, where is your furniture?" asked the tourist.

"Where is yours?" asked Hafez

"Mine? But I'm only a visitor here."

"So am I," said the rabbi.

This story, and the picture of Jesus sending his disciples out with no gold or silver....no bag for the journey, no staff or shoes and only one tunic (Matt 10) fill my mind as I pack for my journey. I have a Dodge van made into a camper. It's getting filled with books, clothes for cold weather, hot weather, rainy weather. I have enough safety equipment to care for a small town! Flashlights, ponchos, two pairs of shoes, lots of duct tape (one never knows!), a tool box, stove, pots and dishes, soap, shampoo, first aide kit, cameras, hat, electrical cord....etc.etc.etc. Times have changed!

The question arises....How do I journey as a pilgrim in this day and culture?

Advertisements seek to fill our minds with "wants" masquerading as "needs". Will having the fastest car, the whitest laundry, the "miracle" shampoo, really make my life richer or more meaningful? We seem to have come to the extreme of silliness and folly.

St Dominic valued books and learning. When a famine came, he sold his precious, hand crafted, books to buy food for people who were starving. Perhaps "pilgrim travel" is not about things, but about priorities.

There are some things that I never want to carry with me ....hatred, discontent, anger, possessiveness, anxiety...anything that divides my heart and keeps me from living in the present moment. After all, it's the awareness of this present moment that is really all we have.