“New Paths” – Sursum Corda News June 2023
Dear Sursum Corda Mamas–
“Paths are the habits of a landscape.”
Robert MacFarlane, The Old Ways
Summer is here, and our routes, like our routines, are changing. Some of us will be traveling this summer and seeing whole new lands. Others will be shuttling kids to the pool or the beach, with altered traffic patterns!
The paths we take shape our experience, to some extent. Some will bring back memories of summers past. Some will open tired eyes to beauty once again. Some will be hard or frustrating, with literal or figurative traffic. Some might be new to us, but very old and rich in history. I have been reading a book by Robert Macfarlane, The Old Ways, in which he sets out to walk paths older than recorded history, and write about those paths and the people who have walked them before. He describes an experience of deep connection with past generations.
Whether or not you find an ancient footpath to walk this summer, you may well find a path to connect to past generations right on your bookshelf! Reading is also a kind of path: marks made (sometimes long ago), which guide us step by step through time along the same ideas other “travelers” have seen. When we “walk” with Plato or Jane Austen, we walk with thousands of interesting people who have been there before. When we walk in our Bibles, we walk with a great cloud of witnesses.
Summer is a perfect time for some new “trails” of mother culture! Happy Trails to you, dear sisters!
With love,
Heather (for the Board)