All Those Who Wander ~ Closing

Greetings Dear Reader,

Having arrived a rested a bit, I find it necessary to consider next steps.  First will be another day or two of rest.  Then I will begin to move again.  I want to attend to the necessary quickly.

I was not here a day until I ran into someone I knew.  That is always the way of it when I travel.  I also dined a fare I had not in many years.  The world is hot and green here.  One can also feel the quality of sunlight has changed to that waning feel of summer.

The mountains offer morning mist today that makes this place seem as secluded as I feel.  I already remember why I love the place and recall why it is vital that I be here for a bit.  I will attend to the necessary after the holiday weekend. 

For today I find in the journey the opportunity to attend a new church and begin to meet new people.  The other things will come when they come.  For now, I am going to look and listen.  For now, I am going to assess and learn.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

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All Those Who Wander ~ Return to Rivendell

Greetings Dear Reader,

I must be brief today.  The journey itself requires most of my effort.  With most of this leg behind me I expect to rest for a bit in a humble hose on the edge of the misty mountains.  The lonely mountain will be in view and dragons a plenty await.

I need a meeting with Gandalf and to seek the counsel of others who were part of the fellowship.  Thing will unfold as they will.

It is in this journey that I am seeing so many things I must address.  In order to keep moving I must summon more faith.  Keep praying for me Dear Reader.  I do have my handkerchief.

  

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

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All Those Who Wander ~ One White Duck

Greetings Dear Reader,

In northern England a set of three porcelain flying ducks was a traditional wall ornament.  This signified an established and settled household.  “If only one remains, ‘one white duck on your wall’, the suggestion is that the household…has broken up; hence this song.  Whether the white duck is the only duck left, or the pale outline where a duck has been removed from the wall, is something to consider.” (Neil R. Thomason)

The song, One White Duck is my younger Son’s favorite Jethro Tull song.  I perhaps have found a new facet of this tune that I have not seen before.  As I retool my concept of home and abodes, I realize that perhaps all the trappings that we consider home are just that, trappings.  Perhaps we are prevented from feeling like we are headed home because we are trapped in a false sense of home.

I realize that I have been trapped in an idea of an ideal that is not real for a long time.  We attached ourselves to so many things to appear that we are “home” when all of it is temporary.  Everything we attach to hinders our journey.  It damages relationships and mitigates movement toward our real destination. 

Today I have pulled on my old wings and the motorway stretches out before me.  Perhaps that is the answer.  Perchance I have found a way to bridge the gap between what I feel and what is truth.  It is a painful transition but perhaps a vital one.  It is all too damn real…

One White Duck – Jethro Tull

There's a haze on the skyline, to wish me on my way.

And there's a note on the telephone; some roses on a Tray.

And the motorway stretching right out to us all,

As I pull on my old wings, one white duck on your wall.

Isn't it just too damn real?

One white duck on your wall…

I'll catch a ride on your violin, strung up on your bow.

And I'll float on your melody, sing your chorus soft and low.

There's a picture-view postcard to say that I called.

You can see from the fireplace, one white duck on your wall.

Isn't it just too damn real?

One white duck on your wall…

One white duck on your wall…

One duck on your wall…

So, fly away peter and fly away Paul, from the

Finger-tip ledge of contentment.

The long restless rustle of high-heeled boots calls.

And I'm probably bound to deceive you after all.

Something must be wrong with me and my brain

If I'm so patently unrewarding.

But my dreams are for dreaming and best left that way,

And my zero to your power of ten equals nothing at all.

There's no double-lock defense; there's no chain on my door,

And I'm available for consultation,

But remember your way in is also my way out,

And love's four-letter word is no compensation.

Well, I'm the black ace dog-handler, I'm a waiter on skates,

So, don't you jump to your foreskin conclusion.

‘cause I'm up to my deaf ears in cold breakfast trays,

To be cleared before I can dine on your sweet Sunday lunch confusion.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

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All Those Who Wander ~ The Traveler’s Psalm

Greetings Dear Reader,

Psa 121:1-7 A song of ascent. I look up toward the mountains. Where can I find help?   My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth.  He will not let you fall. Your guardian will not fall asleep.  Indeed, the Guardian of Israel never rests or sleeps.  The LORD is your guardian. The LORD is the shade over your right hand.  The sun will not beat down on you during the day, nor will the moon at night.  The LORD guards you from every evil. He guards your life.  The LORD guards you as you come and go, now and forever.

Travel was much harder back then.  One had to take real risk to journey even to the next town or village.  It has only been in the last one hundred or so years where moving from one place to another was quick and easy.  Even so, there have always been wanderers, nomads, and vagabonds. 

The temptation is to fade like a Cheshire Cat.  The lure is to be unknown and a little mysterious.  There are, however, things to which I must attend.  I may be done with roots and permanence but I am not done with people.  I have accounts to settle where I am the debtor.  I have fences to mend and walls to tear down.

I cannot do this without a fellow traveler who is much better than I am.  As I follow Christ I falter.  Then he helps me stand.  He teaches me where the footfalls are and how to avoid them.  I fail and fall but when I remember to look up I find the help I need. 

This part of the journey starts with returning to the source in every way.  I feel pain and fear but I am not traveling alone.  I can seek out those wronged and redress the wrongs.  I can perhaps give them a measure of comfort or peace.  I know that it will create more space in my own heart and mind for what is good and right.

I have felt things that I have not felt since I was very young in my faith.  Perhaps there is more hope than I feel.  Perhaps the Father has more for this weary traveler than I have considered. 

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

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All Those Who Wander ~ Miles to Go Before I Sleep

Greetings Dear Reader,

I admit that aspects of this transition are filled with pain and sorrow.  There is heartbreak, failure, and loss.  That does not come without a cost.

A few have asked, assumed, or panicked that I was suicidal.  I am not.  I have been to that edge before but I refuse to go there again.  I admit that I am weary and tired.  Those two things are different if you did not know that.  I am not considering taking my life. 

My stance on this, having considered and planned it in the past is that it is just not an option.  My faith and my passions inform me that I have work left to do yet.  I have responsibilities and commitments.  I have stories to tell and novels to write.

As I said, however, I am very weary.  I am going to rest for a bit whilst attempting to get my bearings.  My basic belief, that we are all on a journey back to God, means that I have to keep moving.  I have to rest at times so that I can. 

I welcome your prayers and support as I join “the motorway stretching right out for us all.” If you are worried about me Dear Reader, please know that even though I long for Home, I will not take early retirement.   “I have promises yet to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.” 

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

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All Those Who Wander ~ Tethers to Untie

Greetings Dear Reader,

When we begin to wander purposefully there are so many things one must leave behind.  The words of Tolkien echo to me not because I think of myself as a hero who is an unknown king.  I do identify with the man who could travel to places and do good for others and then move along the journey. 

I have learned that in the beginning I am very beneficial for others.  The difficulty becomes that instead of moving on when I have done my part I seek to keep them close to ease my fear of them not being OK.  When I cross that barrier, I stop letting God control the situation.  I am responsible to do my part not write the ending for their story.

Therefore, as I go back to the road I must untie some tethers.  Some will require that I do so now.  Others will require that I seek out friends long silent.  It is a need to untie tethers to failure that are my own.  It is the desire to settle accounts with hearts that matter to me. 

Perhaps it will be painful but, in the end, seeking reconciliation always leads to peace.  If I can give others peace then I can better travel as I need to on the journey home.  I will not leave behind or untether my love for others.  I will, however, admit that for some I have tarried too long. 

I am meant to be a wanderer.  I am designed to be a door warden not the man in the castle.  As I put on my old wings it becomes too real that I can achieve more good wandering than in any other way.  I will still be here Dear Reader, available for consultation. 

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

All Those Who Wander ~ Opening Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

When I wrote about negating needs a couple of weeks ago I had no idea how quickly I would be required to negate some of them.  I talked about the difference between wanting a home and where our true home really lies.  Within days it became apparent that I was going to be required to live this.

Balancing the desire for home and the need to journey onward is difficult.  We need community but we also need to be vagabonds.  Perhaps we are supposed to be nomads.  We also have to learn to be still.  The paradox is a narrow navigation.

As I strike out on the road for a bit I realize that one of the things I need to do is dispel some old ghosts.  I must also find a place to achieve a balance.  I need to mend some long-broken fences.  It intrigues me how broken fences left un-mended become walls. 

There are things internally that I must mitigate and things I must nurture.  Perhaps the idea that the road teaches us things we cannot learn at home is playing out here.  Perhaps there is more for me to learn than I am aware.

One can get used to almost anything.  I have never been able to get used to being alone.  As I wander for a bit, I could use your company Dear Reader.  Your conversation and kind words make even the roughest roads smooth.

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes, a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king. – J.R.R. Tolkien – Fellowship of the Ring

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

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The Road - Wandering Aloud

Greetings Dear Reader,

Thick as a Brick has been playing through my head all night.  If you follow the link and get stuck there please come back in 44 minutes.  Real battle is always fought in the heart and the mind.  It is won or lost there as well. 

I am trying to get at the root of the things that hinder me from being all that I am capable of being.  There are changes and healing and restorations that need to exist.  I can do what I am supposed to do but I cannot change anyone else. In trying to undo some locks I have had a couple of beam and speck moments that will lead to better choices on my part.

I realize that this all may sound disjointed Dear Reader but the flotsam and jetsam of my mind is not too organized.  My first duty is to Christ.  In doing that duty I must unlock the prisons of the past in order to attempt to set up good for the future.  The oldest of the family must move with authority but at what cost to the things he has sequestered away because they hurt so much. 

The war is to use the memories for good without embracing the anger and bitterness that cling to them like this Georgia humidity.  “The innocent young master, thoughts moving ever faster, has formed a plan to change the man he sees.”  Right on the heels of this thought is the fact that I am not alone in the process; “Constant creation, that’s what I am, as you are making me into your man.” 

But I also wonder how long the sins of my forebears will haunt the lives of my children and possibly my grandchildren.  I wander aloud seeking a way to undo these too often resonant tethers to a poison past.  I am less entrapped in the mire than my parents and it is obvious I have done better by my children.  I have, however,  not done as well as I could and some of that needs mending. 

Tomorrow I wander north to the place where my great failure lives.  The place is beautiful as it rest between the Misty Mountains and the Lonely Mountain.  How much of the loss can I lay to rest there?  Perhaps there is some attornment I can achieve.  Perhaps I can couple the forgiveness I already have from God with some human semblance of the same.   Perhaps not.  But it is only the asking that makes us what we are…

Wond’ring Again – Jethro Tull

There's the stillness of death on a deathly unliving sea,

And the motor car magical world long since ceased to be,

When the Eve-bitten apple returned to destroy the tree.

Incestuous ancestry's charabanc ride,

Spawning new millions throws the world on its side.

Supporting their far-flung illusion, the national curse,

And those with no sandwiches please get off the bus.

The excrement bubbles,

The century's slime decays

And the brainwashing government lackeys

Would have us say

It’s under control and we'll soon be on our way

To a grand year for babies and quiz panel games

Of the hot hungry millions you'll be sure to remain.

The natural resources are dwindling and no one grows old,

And those with no homes to go to, please dig yourself holes.

We wandered through quiet lands, felt the first breath of snow.

Searched for the last pigeon, slate grey I've been told.

Stumbled on a daffodil which she crushed in the rush, heard it sigh,

And left it to die.

At once felt remorse and were touched by the loss of our own,

Held its poor broken head in her hands,

Dropped soft tears in the snow,

And it's only the taking that makes you what you are.

Wond'ring aloud will a son one day be born

To share in our infancy

In the child's path we've worn.

In the aging seclusion of this earth that our birth did surprise

We’ll open his eyes.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

The Road – Wandering Youth

Greetings Dear Reader,

When I was first in my teen years I had access to a large wooded area and most of the entertainment I valued was within walking distance.  I ranged far and often in those days.  I was lean and adventurous.  That all changed at one point.

I have not thought of that time in decades.  As I ponder those days and my forthcoming journey ahead I am reminded of the few times in my life where solitude was a welcome companion. 

How to recapture the contentment of that time eludes me.  There is damage and isolation in the years between that impact it.  Some of the things that hinder me are my own doing.  Some of the hindrances are circumstances outside of my control.

Then again I cannot truly control anything but my responses.  I must find the place in me that made good use of the time and recapture it.  I need to allow Christ to recapture this part of me and revive it if he wills. 

Since it is all a journey back to God I must allow the journey in me to awaken and unfold.  I must recapture the elusive ability to find joy in the journey no matter what is around me. 

Recapture Me – Michael Card  

Fleeing what I do not know

Recapture me, recapture me

I flee to where I cannot go

Recapture me

The bridge between my heart and mind

Recapture me, recapture me

You come across myself to find

Recapture me

You come and knock on imaginations door

You come to show to

To know You is what eyes and ears are for

With ears that hear but not receive

Recapture me, recapture me

With eyes that see but can't perceive

Recapture me

Your paradox and poetry

Recapture me, recapture me

You speak one sacred certainty

Recapture me

You come and knock on imaginations door

You come to show to, to know You is

What eyes and ears are for

To know You is what eyes and ears are for

Through prophets madness make me wise

Recapture me, recapture me

Through foolish faith open my eyes

Recapture me

With sacred words, with silent words

Recapture me, recapture me

You're the living Word that must be heard

Recapture me

Recapture me

Recapture, recapture me

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)