Ten kilometres from our destination,
we came to a dead
stop.

Over the next few hours,
the line of stopped vehicles grew

from five kilometres to twelve.
Emergency vehicles came.

A helicopter landed and left.
When three tow trucks went by,
we were hopeful.
But no. Next update in six hours.

We were one of the lucky ones
who didn’t have hotel reservations,
a plane to catch,
or a loved one who wouldn’t come home.
We just had to turn back a short distance
to a campground down the road.
Soon, the campground filled
with those who gave up waiting, too.

Twice this summer,
Fred and I have been stopped for hours
because of a traffic accident.

We were delayed,
others taken
right out of this life
and into the next.

I have filled this life
doing things that make me more solid,
and now that life has stopped.
God has placed me in a different campground
and surrounded me with God’s self
incarnate in the rock-solid peaks
silent trees, squirrels,
and a motley crew of travellers
with only one job:
to receive
what only God can give.

At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusion, a point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to God, which is never at our disposal from which God disposes of our lives, which is inaccessible to the fantasies of our own mind or the brutalities of our own will. This little point of nothingness and of absolute poverty is the pure glory of God in us. It is, so to speak, His name written in us as our poverty, as our indigence, as our dependence, as our sonship. It is like a pure diamond blazing with the invisible light of heaven. It is in everybody, and if we could see it, we would see these billions of points of light coming together in the face and blaze of a sun that would make all the darkness and cruelty of life vanish completely. I have no program for this seeing. It is only given, but the gate of heaven is everywhere. –Thomas Merton, Conjectures of A Guilty Bystander (Image, 1968), p. 155.

Note: My apologies for the recent inconsistency in posting on my blog. I’ve had limited access to wifi and that too felt like a stop that was out of my control. Letting go. Being with what is.

Credits and References:
Photo of the road closure on Hwy 1 near Field on Aug 7 2024 by Esther Hizsa. Used with permission.
Accident on the Trans Canada near Field, B.C. by Esther Hizsa, 2024
Photo of Hoodoo Campground by Esther Hizsa. Used with permission.

© Esther Hizsa, An Everyday Pilgrim, 2024.
The unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without permission from Esther Hizsa is prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used provided there is a link to the original content and credit is given as follows: © Esther Hizsa, An Everyday Pilgrim 2013-2024.  http://www.estherhizsa.com