“You have looked at so many doors with longing,
wondering if your life lay on the other side.
For today, choose the door that opens to the inside.
Travel the most ancient way of all:
the path that leads you to the center of your life.
No map but the one you make yourself.
No provision but what you already carry
and the grace that comes
to those who walk the pilgrim way.
Speak this blessing as you set out
and watch how your rhythm slows,
the cadence of the road
drawing you into the pace
that is your own.
Eat when hungry.
Rest when tired.
Listen to your dreaming.
Welcome detours as doors deeper in.
Pray for protection.
Ask for guidance.
Offer gladness for the gifts that come,
and then let them go.
Do not expect to return by the same road.
Home is always by another way,
and you will know it
not by the light that waits for you
but by the star that blazes inside you,
telling you where you are is holy
and you are welcome here.”
From Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons by Jan Richardson
King Edward Street Chapel 