I am very happy to share that I have been successful in my quest to well…quest. I’ve been actively wandering!
It helped that I went on a vacation with my wonderful father to Chicago this weekend. Being in a new city always inspires in me a need to walk. I have always found that the best way to experience a new place is on foot. Cabs are fine, public transportation is a step closer, but walking on foot really gives you the opportunity to engage with the world and people around you.
Again, it’s easy to be encouraged to wander when you’re in a new place, but what about at home? Well, by act of God, luck, or serendipity a new opportunity to wander (wherever I am) dropped into my lap. I was sitting at the airport, flipping through my facebook when I came across a friend’s post where he referred to “geocaching.” I had no clue what that meant. After a fast and furious google, I found out that it is a big, adult, scavenger hunt. The caches are hidden all of the planet. Using a GPS, you can stumble upon these little treasures and sign the logbook hidden inside of them. It’s sort of hard to explain until you do it, so I’ll post a link to it here.
I went for the first time last night, on a whim with a friend after dinner. We found it in a lamppost in a suburban parking lot of all places. After that I was hooked. It’s such a beautiful way to engage with your everyday surroundings in a new way. Today, I met up with another friend and we hunted down 4 of these little treasures. They took me to a park, off of the beaten path. Suddenly I was a child again, fearlessly pushing my way through trees and branches, getting sweaty and dirty, looking for simple treasures that other people may simply pass by.
I felt so alive. Not only that, but I felt so connected. Many of the caches have stories that go along with them. One cache was in honor of a dog that passed. The story was so moving, about a dog who loved to catch tennis balls. This resonates with me, because my dog is so dear to me. It felt so amazing when we found a few tennis balls scattered around the area with the cache. It was the perfect place to honor this dog.
Another cache was put in place by a family who does their everyday shopping at a certain shopping center in town. The cache had little shells and toys inside. I like to imagine these things were tiny souvenirs from a summer beach vacation.
Wandering is a part of what Jews do. It is built into our history and our DNA. My father always describes us as a “tribal religion,” spreading through blood line rather than by active conversion. Part of that tribal heritage is engaging with the world around you.
God is in this place, but I, I did not know it. (Genesis 28: 16)
And You Shall Love 