When one meets a retiree in a social gathering, one of the first questions that invariably arises is, ‘Congrats on this milestone, how do you spend your time’? And rather than listing activities that show up on our schedule, we would love to respond with a list of passions that we are pursuing!
The deepest passion that every human being shares is to truly peel back the layers, shut out the distractions of the world and uncover the meaning and purpose of our lives. For us, this passion is really a spiritual quest, to discover God’s plan for the remaining journeys that we will undertake. To that end, we decided that we will embark on a pilgrimage, perhaps the first of many to come. Thus, our plans have been set, to do a pilgrimage on foot, on the Camino de Santiago. A pre-Camino visit to Fatima will allow us to pray, contemplate and prepare within. This is detailed in our Camino pages.
For me, it also includes a broader and deeper engagement with my Parish community. Taking an active role, participating in various programs and ministries, and learning to discern and listen to my heart.
As we prepared physically for the Camino hikes, we realized our preparatory hikes were revealing the beauty of Pacific North West’s outdoors. Thus, our passion for the outdoors and hiking was re-kindled. While we had other hiking books, we lucked out on spotting and purchasing our current go-to trail handbook in a historical museum! This book, ‘Take A Walk, Seattle’ by Sue Muller Hacking has 120 walks listed, that at least meet some of her criteria – ‘cathedral-like forest, open meadows, tranquil ponds, mountain and water views, birds and other wildlife’. However, we post all our trail photos on our Facebook pages, and perhaps, we may transition some of our favorites to a photo gallery on this site at some point in the future.
We both love to read. But as an introvert, I love to read contemplative books that stretches or enlarges my perspective. And when such knowledge or awareness strikes me, I share in the Contemplation pages.
Living fully is a passion that is often over-looked. That can be in the joy of gardening or creating meals that cement a celebration for years to come.
we were fortunate to discover a new parish whose mission statement is, ‘Where stewardship is a way of life and the diversity of our gifts is used to answer Christ’s call to proclaim and live the Gospel’.
Journey Within 