“How Was Your Trip?” Is an Impossible Question

on pilgrimage and transformation

Good morning, Blue Roomies!

I’m back from Scotland, a trip in which 33 of us traveled together, saw sights together, ate and drank together, sang and talked and laughed and even cried together. 

Many have asked, “How was the trip?” It’s a kind question, and on one level, not hard to answer. We had inexplicably perfect weather—not a single Scottish raindrop. (Meanwhile, it’s barely stopped raining in Northern Virginia since I landed.) We toured amazing sites and were guided by warm and wonderful people. The logistics were about as flawless as one could reasonably expect for almost three dozen people traveling together, with only a couple logistical snafus that people weathered with patience. Thank you Eric and Heather of Progressive Pilgrimage! I’ve begun talks with them about hosting a pilgrimage especially for us, the Blue Room community. Interested? Watch this space, or message me to make sure you’re in the loop:

You can see some of my real-time reflections via Substack Notes, but in summary, we spent three glorious days on Iona:

We savored human handiwork in the form of colorful facades, simple graffiti, and fiber arts:

We glimpsed eternity, wandering around medieval ruins and along the shores of the North Sea, and soared in the blue space between earth and heaven: 

We saw things we’d see on any sightseeing trip to Scotland. But this was a pilgrimage, not a trip, and certainly not a “vacation.” Which means we were invited to set an intention for our time, and revisit and adjust it as needed. Some journeyed with hopes of being changed, of coming out the other side different than we went in. Others simply sought to make some new friends and deepen existing relationships. Many hoped to connect more deeply with the sacred. You can’t control or predict these things, of course, but traveling as a pilgrim means being willing for the foreign landscape to do something to you. Which makes the question “How did it go?” very hard to answer. 

At the very least, the question feels premature. When people asked me in 2022 how my sabbatical went, I would sometimes say, “Too soon to tell.” Some important furniture got shifted around, and even three years later, I’m still impacted by what I did that summer (and what I set aside).

I find myself in a similar space now. It’s comforting, and feels like an important strike against our consumerist culture, to say that the fruit of a trip like this doesn’t ripen quickly and get gobbled up immediately. Instead, it grows at its own pace and is ingested thoughtfully over time. 

Wherever your journeys take you this summer, even your own backyard, may the fruit be sweet and juicy!

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What I’m Up To

• It’s a two-episode week for Pop Culture Pastors Hour! Ed Goode and I reflected on the Andor season finale—watch/listen here—and will gather at 2 p.m. EDT today, May 30, to do a final wrap up of the whole series, plus a little Rogue One conversation. Join us. 

• I’m preaching this Sunday, June 1 (Happy Pride Month!) at 10:15 EDT at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Herndon, and via livestream. The service will include some liturgy and music we picked up on Iona! 

• On Monday June 2 I’ll share a conversation with Arianne Braithwaite Lehn and Ed Goode, both of whom are pastor/artist/writers, about how we find beauty in challenging times. This is part of our Art of Onward series for supporting subscribers, which you can be for as little as 3 bucks a month. 

• Starting next week, we’ll be in summer mode here at the Blue Room. You’ll still hear from me every Friday, but I’ll be alternating between a regular post and a “lite” post, such as a quote, photo, or book recommendation.

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Link Love

The wonderful Frances Wattman Rosenau is also writing about pilgrimage this summer, including this one:

The Road Leads The Way

Steady on.