All is Gift

All is Gift
Things didn't go as I'd hoped. Turned out (as it so often does) there
is blessing in it not being my plan but God's - even if it takes gale
force winds and sand/dirt storms to get me to lift my stubborn head
and abandon what I thought I was supposed to be doing.
I triked half of the way to Chimayo. That's how life is with
disability. I am did-able to do certain things and it takes the love
and sacrifice of others, particularly my Beloved, to help me
accomplish what we agree to accomplish together.
We drove the last half together.
God is our wild, uncontrolable, unknowable, passionate creator who is
foolish enough to love his creation.. Thank God! Anything less
wouldn't be God.
Chimayo. Beautiful. Timeless. Tranquel. Rugged. Lush Eden in a jagged,
rocky, desert. Soul food. Pilgrimage's end. Journeys beginning. The
road along the way. Faith incarnate in mud, straw and ash. All is gift.

Blessings,
Patrick
It's all good, but is it the best good?
www.BrainInjuryChaplain.com

World Wide Conspiricy Continues

World Wide Conspiricy Continues
Warning: this post borders on griping, perhaps going well past the
border. I post it anyway in the hope it may help increase
understanding of the effects of brain injury.
Ever since my disability began at the end of 2002 I've suspected and
experienced a world-wide conspiricy against folks with brain injury. I
doubt it's intentional or coordinated, but it sure seems so at times.
Sardonic grin.
The culmination of day 5 and its subsequent night and ensuing next day
certainly have the effect of a well orchistrated conspiracy.
Day Five:
Afternoon: vagabond dog tangles with my service dog and our two other
dogs (all leashed). Barking and commotion behind me ends my day
(essentially short circuiting my brain).
High winds begin. This makes everything flicker and move and flap
(more stimulation for my already fuzzy brain to try and handle).
8:30pm: (my normal bed time is 7) The singing park ranger begins sound
check for his concert. The accoustics of the ampitheater are such that
the campground hears everything with impressive clarity. Concert and
commotion of returning campers creates havoc till 11pm.
Grumpy result: day 6 is a brain recovery day (presuming I can get away
from noise today).

Blessings,
Patrick
It's all good, but is it the best good?
www.BrainInjuryChaplain.com

Dignity at the Dunes

Dignity at the Dunes
Chimayo Pilgrimage Day 5
Sand Dunes National Park offers fantastic balloon tire wheel chairs
for folks with mobility issues on the dunes. Their only drawback is
they are cumbersome to push and it gave my wife quite a workout
pushing me across the creek. They make the dunes more accessable than
I would have thought and made for a grand morning at the Colorado
"beach." Thank you, friends of the dunes!
Tomorrow has predicted high winds. We may see how I do in 55mph head
winds. Sardonic grin.
Blessings,
Patrick
It's all good, but is it the best good?
www.BrainInjuryChaplain.com

Roadside Memorials Chimayo Pilgrimage

Roadside Memorials
Chimayo Pilgrimage
Day 4
Assending Poncha Pass there are several roadside memorials. Though I
often pay them little mind passing by car, figuring them to be
personal memorials, I found myself both praying for them and asking
for their intercessions on my journey.
There is a timeless bond between people who struggle in a specific
place. For some it was their final earthly burden, for me simply the
joyful struggle of climbing a mountain pass toward sunrise.
Np matter our capacity, life's challenges find our poverty and seek to
turn is away. Only by turning toward Kesis our Christ and following
St. Paul's bequest that Christ can make us strongest where we are
weakest have we hope to persivere.
Now at the Sand Dunes near Alamosa, CO for a planned 2 night stay.

Blessings,
Patrick
It's all good, but is it the best good?
www.BrainInjuryChaplain.com

Chimayo Pilgrimage

Chimayo Pilgrimage
Day 2 & 3
50 miles up Big Horn Cañon to half way up Poncha Pass.
Truely amazing how much cooler 8,500 ft. is vs. 6,000.
After today I take a day to rest (appropriate it's Sunday!). Brain
recovering nicely.

Blessings,
Patrick
It's all good, but is it the best good?
www.BrainInjuryChaplain.com

Prayer Breathing

Prayer Breathing
Chimayo Pilgrimage Pt. 2
Day 1: 70 miles; 4000ft. Climb, 5500ft. Decent.
Trikes through snow (June 6!) Not much, but fun. Grin.
Its comicaly interaguing how the physical journey intimately shapes
the spiritual. Up the many steep assents my breathing prayer/
meditation began as the Jesus Prayer: Jesus remember me when you come
into your kingdom. Of course the heavy breathing of steep climbing
quickly shortains it to it's core essence: Jesus!

Blessings,
Patrick
It's all good, but is it the best good?
www.BrainInjuryChaplain.com

What is a Pilgrimage? Chimayo Pilgrimage Pt 1

What is a Pilgrimage?
Chimayo Pilgrimage Pt 1
A pilgrimage is a journey of faith. While healing and hope of healing
may be a prayer intention for a pilgrimage, I personally believe the
goal of any pilgrimage should be to deepen our relationship with God.
I'll be triking (cycling) 350 miles to Chimato.
Why triking? Sacrifice is often an interional part of a pilgrimage.
Traveling by human power only seems appropriate.
Why Chimayo? For centuries Chimayo has been known as a healing place,
especially the dirt around a now dry spring. Jesus often tells those
he heals "Your faith has healed you." Far from being magic, or
formulaic, sucj a pilgrimage is about faith and relationship more than
about being healed.
Will I be healed? Absolutely. God will heal me in the fullness of
time. Will God heal me as a result of this pilgrimage? Perhaps. Time
will tell.
Questions to prayerfully consider befoer taking a pilgrimage (these
are things I asked myself before this trip):
Is doing so selfish, or an act of faith?
What sacrifice can I prayerfully offer? Money? Time? Physical effort/
endurance?
Why do I go?
What do I hope for from this journey?
Blessings in Jesus our Christ,
Patrick

Blessings,
Patrick
It's all good, but is it the best good?
www.BrainInjuryChaplain.com