Another Trip to the Woods

I see you’ve returned for another round.

To see where this path may go.

So watch your step, the stones abound

Where spirits bumble and grow.

Telling a Story

I had the enthusiasm of a young child. A child filled with excitement and energy, relentlessly sharing but with really nothing to say. It was story time. Much was written, but little was said. When we listen to children tell stories, we know that they often don’t know where they are headed. They just take off running down the path, enjoying the tale as it unfolds before their listeners and themselves. As adults, we often follow along with the young storytellers because know their joy is in the telling and ours is in the listening. Last week, I was the child. You were the adult. The stones were unpolished. The story was the pilgrimage.

Pilgrimage...yes. Enneagrammatic...no.

It was a tale of paths and pebbles. Of exploration and discovery. Of wonder and beauty. I was kicking up and picking up stones to share with little explanation. The joy was mine. The confusion was yours. Hopefully with another trip through the woods, the path will reveal some more truths for both of us to share. The path we trod was that of the Enneagram, a tool that helps us better understand ourselves, our tendencies, our strengths, our weaknesses, and our blind spots. I find the study fascinating. Both insightful and practical. As we gathered together last week, I took your hand and led you to the path in the woods but said little about the actual enneagram or even the pilgrimage. I just wandered around pointing and picking up pebbles of wisdom to share. I'm guessing you just wondered around, playing along in mild curiosity of the path and these odd stones.

Ennea- the Paths You Wish

We are all wanderers and wonderers. We wander this world and wonder about our place in it. Each of our life journeys lead to a fork in the road. We can think of this as a fork with nine paths of the enneagram (“ennea” is Greek for “nine”). As we wander and wonder, we find that one path will suit us best. One path that will guide us and lead us to self-discovery. These nine paths are presented to us as personality types in the enneagrammatic study. We can discover our best path by taking a test, or we can take a more scenic route. Wandering each of the paths. Seeing qualities of ourselves and others in the scenery. I encourage you to do some exploring on your own. You’ll find one that just feels right. Spend enough time and you may even find your “wings.” If you’re curious, I believe I’m a "3w2."

Go For a Walk

I’m off to play and explore some more. You’re welcome to do the same. In fact, I encourage you to do so. If you want somewhere to begin, I recommend you seek out some pebbles from Ian Cron. Here are a few to put in your pocket from his book, The Road Back to You: an enneagram journey of self-discovery.

“The Enneagram doesn’t put you in a box. It shows you the box you’re already in and how to get out of it.”

“Ironically, the term personality is derived from the Greek word for mask ( persona), reflecting our tendency to confuse the masks we wear with our true selves, even long after the threats of early childhood have passed.”

“Stop fantasizing about the ideal relationship, career or community and getting stuck in longing for it. Instead, work hard for what’s possible and see it through to completion. Don’t look for beauty and meaning only in the extraordinary or unusual but in the ordinary and simple as well. When the past calls, let it go to voicemail. It has nothing new to say to you.”

“Buried in the deepest precincts of being I sense there’s a truer, more luminous expression of myself, and that as long as I remain estranged from it I will never feel fully alive or whole.”

“Either way, always maintain a compassionate stance toward yourself as God does. Self-contempt will never produce lasting, healing change in our lives, only love.”

Enjoy the walk.

Enjoy the pilgrimage.

Enjoy the day!