A Mile In My Shoes – Chapter 2

In chapter two of A Mile In My Shoes, Trevor Hudson talks about preparing for a pilgrimage by cultivating a pilgrim attitude. Developing such an attitude is not only crucial for a week long type of excursion illustrated by the Pilgrimage of Pain and Hope but it is equally important in our daily lives. Hudson writes:

How, then, do we go about cultivating a pilgrim attitude? Applicable to every apprentice pilgrim, whether embarking upon a planned pilgrimage experience or not, the question deserves careful attention. Otherwise our lives run the risk of becoming characterized by aimless drifting, smug self-concern, and bland superficiality. Based upon the biblical witness, insights from mentors, and my personal experience with the Pilgrimage of Pain and Hope, I will outline three interwoven ingredients of a pilgrim posture.

So what are these three ingredients?

Learning To Be Present

Hudson discusses how easily we are distracted by our hurried lifestyles from being fully present with others, even those very close to us. We often experience an “interior emigration” of mind and heart.

Let me describe what it means to be truly present. Being present involves letting go of our constant preoccupations, immersing ourselves in the here and now, and giving ourselves wholeheartedly to whatever is at hand. Involving far more than being merely physically present, it’s about becoming more aware, alert, awake to the fullness of the immediate moment. If we are with another person, it means engaging him or her with all of our heart, our mind, our soul, and our strength.

Learning To Listen

A noncaring Christ-follower is a contradiction in terms. However, we cannot show real concern, especially for those in pain, unless we first take time to listen. We can only love those to whom we genuinely listen. For this reason, if we intend to put our lives alongside those who suffer and reflect to them the compassion of Christ, our presence must always be a listening one.

Learning To Notice

Christ-followers live in the faith that the Divine Presence interpenetrates all of our lives. Apostle Paul witnesses to this startling reality when, in his message to the Athenians, he declares boldly that God is always near, for “in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). . . . Whether we acknowledge it or not, the Holy One enfolds each of our lives, pours out continuously divine love upon us, and communicates constantly with us.

If God comes so close to us in our everyday experineces and encounters, we must learn how to notice the Divine Presence. Discerning what God is doing and saying in our midst lays the foundations for the faithful pilgrim’s responses.