Over the past few years I have been noticing cairns. Simply described, cairns are stacks of stones that often serve as markers on trails. Even though some national and state parks use modernized signage to keep hikers on the right path, without getting lost, cairns are more time-honored, ancient structures. They are still used in Acadia National Park in Maine today.
While cairns have a utilitarian purpose, cairns may be seen in high-end artsy gift shops. In 2017 I found a remarkably heavy cairn (held together by a wooden dowel rod through holes) at the Indianapolis Museum of Art Gift Shop. I liked it so much that I bought it. I have always enjoyed looking at and collecting rocks (maybe a habit that I developed while growing up at the foot of the Rockies in Denver). On a recent trip to Canada, I enjoyed seeing cairns that individuals had placed for no practical reason on beaches (see pics above). One of my spiritual direction clients commented to me today that cairns, such as the ones pictured above, are little altars that people leave. Yes, they are decorative in a rough and primitive way but they also articulate spiritual yearning that is basic to the human experience. Cairns might serve as a metaphor for spiritual direction. Over the months and years, the spiritual director and her client examine and probe one lived experience after another. Each of these often gritty or even very unpleasant lived experiences is piled one upon another over time. The accumulated discussions and probings point in new directions and new paths. The composite work--stone carefully placed upon stone-- can serve as a marker for the seeker's on-going journey. Most often, this is slow work whose results are mostly visible in the long term. My spiritual direction practice uses the motto "Taking the next step on the spiritual journey . . . ." What are the markers or metaphorical cairns that guide you as you take this journey? What are the experiences that bring you to where you are now? What are the experiences that give you energy to take that next step on the spiritual journey? To see some cairns in the Cape Breton Highlands of Canada, check out this vacation video I took from a 2018 vacation to Nova Scotia: https://link.shutterfly.com/YImrHag1Xnb
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March 2023
AuthorDan Hoffman is an Indianapolis USA based spiritual director, supervisor of spiritual directors, and workshop/retreat leader. This occasional blog discusses things he is thinking about and wants to share. Comments are always welcome. |