The Old Neighborhood

For the first time since returning to Holy Cross a week ago, I managed to rise early enough for a stroll around campus before breakfast and a full day's work. Bundled up against the pre-dawn chill, yet immaterially warmed by the radiant glow of dawn on the southeastern horizon, I devoted much of my thirty-minute tour of the College's grounds to simple prayer– meditating upon blessings of the new day, seeking guidance for issues that I anticipated facing, begging advice as I prepare for an upcoming 5-day silent retreat for students.

"The old neighborhood"
Haddon Township NJ

This morning's exercise also reminded me of some walks I took around "the old neighborhood" while I was visiting my parents in South Jersey over Christmas. I'm not sure precisely when, but I know that my habit of meditative walking has its roots in the paths that I found through the tree-lined blocks surrounding my home. Whether treading these paths alone, or doing so in the company of my mother, my father, and/or our beloved Beagle (recently deceased after 16+ years), there was something about tracing a loop for 30 to 60 minutes. I've used my walks to catch up on family news, to take a break from family news, to give the dog some exercise, to clear (or fill) my head, to meditate upon the lives occurring within the houses in my neighborhood, many of which look very much like my own.

A typical Victorian home
Cape May NJ

Even though I no longer call South Jersey home, as I strolled its most familiar blocks during the last week of December, I did feel quite welcome and at ease, "at home on the road," to paraphrase quite liberally a Jesuit principle about finding one's home and community not merely (or only) in the place where one's mail is delivered. By the same token, Holy Cross will not always be my apostolate or place of residence, and in the future it too will feel like another "old neighborhood," where I can associate a memory, an insight, and a story with every bend in the road well-worn by my strolling feet.

May your walks be exercises for body and soul, and your homes be blessed.