A sacred expression. Michiana Shores, Lake Michigan, Michigan June 21, 2013
My experience regarding sacred places such as altars, churches, shrines is that they are places you plan on visiting. They are predictably in a given location. Either you know about them or you don't and you plan accordingly to include them in your plans (like attending a worship service at a given place) or not. We pore over tour books and land on the Grotto of Lourdes or the site in Canterbury Cathedral in the UK where Thomas a Becket was killed. It is very intentional. But there are sacred spaces that may catch us by surprise. Last week I spent a few days at the Michiana Shores, right on the Indiana Michigan state line on Lake Michigan. The beach was pristine and endless and the water and sun most inviting. One evening I was walking along the waterline when I saw that someone had built this beautiful altar. A log, some rocks carefully arranged. It was, at the very least, a kind of beach-appropriate installation art. But, in its composition and attention to design, it seemed to me more than just log/rock/sand composition. It drew the viewer to something greater than him/herself. I don't know how else to put it, but in its simplicity and detail, it pointed to something greater--a greater power or Ultimate Being or God. Anyway, this is what I read back into the sacred place. It did not have to be a part of the Christian narrative for it to energize me. Some spiritual beauty cannot be categorized. My daughter, Nelia, and I decided to leave this sacred place intact. We knew that maybe tomorrow the strong Great Lakes waves would break it apart. We knew that like all sacred places, whether they last two days or two millenia, they are provisional and ad hoc, pointing to that which is more permanent and eternal. We left having had our spirits lifted for a moment. That was all that counted.
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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. |