“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 of our own feet, and learn to be at home. It is a journey we can make only by the acceptance of mystery and of mystification—by yielding to the condition that what we have expected is not there.” ― Wendell Berry, The Unforeseen Wilderness: Kentucky’s Red River Gorge
On a Sunday afternoon, I hooked a bucket around my waist with a bungee cord, and wandered a hillside in search of highbush cranberries. Autumn had arrived, bringing the pungent, boggy scent of pearl-sized berries growing in the woods below my home. I walked the steep mossy landscape intent for a splash of ruby red cranberry, while simultaneously ruminating about a forthcoming talk for a women’s retreat. My session, titled spaciousness of soul, evoked awareness that I was tangled in my inner mind and emotions, again. So, I gave permission for my inner orbit to untangle while I focused with delightful abandon on my cranberry hunt, exploring lichen growing on stumps, and navigating a hillside towering with spruce and birch trees. Shadow and light captivated me. My heart ached from a miscommunication with a friend, and daily life demands at work were getting the best of me, again. One cranberry for the bucket, one for my mouth.
Surprise! I discovered a tree stump. A flat stump large enough to be a seat, maybe two feet wide, still rooted in the ground. I pulled away tall grasses, and sat myself down, astonished. How had I never noticed this spot before? I was high enough that my feet dangled, and so secluded it seemed I discovered a secret hideaway with a view, yet sheltered. A perfect spot to pause.
Breathing deeply I pondered my own inner constellation: how I consciously create spaciousness in my interior landscape through habits, devotions, and spiritual practice, and how I get knotted and tangled. I was still for quite a long time, then I glanced to my right, becoming astonished again! Next to me was a second stump, obscured by spent fireweed stalks, a partner to mine. Sun beamed through spruce trees high behind me. I turned to look up the hill toward my sturdy log home, realizing we each have so much hidden support. Mystery awaits us, evoking a place of creation and radiance already deep within. The ache in my heart melted. I recalled words from Richard Rohr, OFM, attached to my refrigerator with a magnet, “The universe is radical grace, therefore we do not need to be afraid.” In the picking and pausing during a highbush cranberry hunt, I discovered more about that inch of world beneath the ground of my own feet, my own spaciousness of being, grace.
Join me, please. Go on a hunt into the inner territory of your soul. Look closely at your inner constellation. Become untangled, create spaciousness in your life in order to be more open to receive and give your gifts and talents to the world. Perhaps meet with a spiritual companion to aid your journey.
– Pegge Erkeneff
Reprinted from Listen: A Seeker’s Resource for Spiritual Direction, January 2014, Vol. 8, Issue 1 (Spiritual Directors International © 2014). Reprinted with permission of Spiritual Directors International. To order copies or a free subscription of Listen, call 
1-425-455-15651-425-455-1565 or go to www.sdiworld.org.