To say that travels will move you, is a tautology, self-evident on the face. But Kate Daniels, lyricist of the gritty, personal truths of the American South has penned a line that captures the traveler’s rarest take-away, the most powerful gift of a ‘traipse’:
If you’re lucky ….
It will bring you to your knees.
Kate Daniels, ‘Gertrude: In the Rooms’
It may come as unexpected grandeur, some miniature gesture of beguilement, some happenstance that disarms reason, some scene of crushing misfortune, some reckoning with the breadth and power of life. It may even produce a life-long calling. But it’s effect will be something like what the ancients call ‘worship’
Dear Jonathan,
It was such a joy and gift to have that conversation with you and your wife on the plane last week. And it is an even greater joy to read your blog and beautiful poetry. I am reminded of my time in Africa, when the only language I could speak was heart language. The only words I could share with the people were the frequencies of my heart. It was touching and as you wrote, “it brought me to my knees”. The reverence and the love of God that I felt there transformed my life. I hope to come by and have midday tea sometime.
In love and joy.
Kathleen.