Welcome, traveler! Enter and take your rest...

A chaikhana is a teahouse along the legendary Silk Road pilgrimage and trading route linking China to the Middle East and Europe. It is a place of rest along the journey, a place to shake off the dust of the road, to sip tea, and to gather together to sing songs of the Divine...


A Spiritual Journey

by Wendell Berry
 

And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles,
no matter how long,
but only by a spiritual journey,
a journey of one inch,
very arduous and humbling and joyful,
by which we arrive at the ground at our feet,
and learn to be at home.

-- from The Collected Poems of Wendell Berry, 1957-1982, by Wendell Berry

/ Image by LittleLottexo /

View All Poems by Wendell Berry


The poet Wendell Berry passed away earlier this week, and I've been returning to his poems all week, his quiet voice speaking to me as I go about my work day and find silent moments amidst my activity.

Several of his poems have become part of my interior space. The Peace of Wild Things, The Real Work, How to Be a Poet, The Wild Geese, his Sabbath poems. But I chose to feature this one today. It's short. It feels almost like a Zen koan. Yet it is speaking to me. I hope it says something to you too.

--

Few writers these days are truly willing to be still and to befriend the world of growing things outside the city limits. In the modern world, that's practically blasphemy. Writers like that get labeled "poet" and "crank" so they can be safely ignored -- unless their writing is unavoidably good. Unfortunately for the hyperactive world, Wendell Berry's poetry is filled with the presence and heart secretly craved by us all, making his words difficult to ignore.

And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles,
no matter how long...


Share Your Thoughts on today's poem or my commentary...
(Or visit the poem's blog page to click the FB 'Like' button.)







/ Photo by Maria Hossmar /

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