Finding the Center of the Soul
Most of us arrive at a sense of self only after a long journey through alien lands. But this journey bears no resemblance to the trouble-free travel packages sold by the tourism industry. It is more akin to the ancient tradition of pilgrimage--a transformative journey to a sacred center full of hardship, darkness and peril.

In the tradition of pilgrimage, those hardships are seen not as accidental but as integral to the journey itself. Treacherous terrain, bad weather, taking a fall, getting lost--challenges of that sort, largely beyond our control, can strip the ego of the illusion that it is in charge and make space for the true self to emerge. If that happens, the pilgrim has a better chance to find the sacred center he or she seeks. Disabused of our illusions bymuch travel and travail, we awaken one day to find that the sacred center is here and now--in every moment of the journey, everywhere in the world around us, and deep in our hearts.

--from Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak
featured in "Being Real: Spiritual Tools for Authentic Living"

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