The Light, the Thunder, and the Rain. But mostly the Light. A Pilgrim’s Odyssey is your daily dose of hope navigating family, faith, and living free. Silouan Green, The Pilgrim’s Odyssey host, began to find his own answers after a tragic jet crash on an epic 23-month, over 20,000 mile motorcycle trip. Since then, he has taught thousands to take positive action in facing the trials and traumas of life. Life is complicated. Where are you going?
Episodes
Monday May 23, 2022
Monday May 23, 2022
An incredibly scenic drive from Wenatchee to Leavenworth to Lake Wenatchee and back, provided an important lesson on service, and appreciating those who have their eyes on making others better.
When in Wanathchee, visit https://www.arlbergsports.com/.
Saturday May 21, 2022
Saturday May 21, 2022
As the world burns or turns, or whatever we are rapidly sliding towards, the real storm is the one few talk about. We are unmoored. We have created a society that minimizes the things that matter at the expense of the things that don’t matter. We are all complicit.
The great CS Lewis said, "Homemaking is surely in reality the most important work in the world. What do ships, railways, mines, cars, government, etc. exist for except that people may be fed, warmed, and safe in their own homes? The homemaker’s job is one for which all other’s exist."
We now seem to have this backward. A modern reality might be, “Consuming stuff is surely in reality the most important work in the world. What do families exist for except to raise people who will consume and buy this stuff so large corporations and government can be safe in their homes. Consuming stuff is the one thing for which all humans exist.”
Thankfully, each one of us can be a solution. You can be a light to a stormy world. Together we can ride this out and show people another way.
Thursday May 19, 2022
Thursday May 19, 2022
Today, settling in to Olympia, Washington, I explored one of the best city parks you’ll ever stumble upon, Watershed Park. Watershed Park is a 153-acre temperate rain forest public park located in Olympia, Washington that supplied almost all the city's water from privately established wells in the late 1800s. I lost track at the 17th bridge.
Along the trail, I passed by a young man with an Olympia High School sweatshirt. I went back to my youth and couldn’t help but wonder what that cauldron would be like today.
https://www.olympiawa.gov/services/parks___recreation/parks___trails/watershed_park.php
Tuesday May 17, 2022
Tuesday May 17, 2022
I scanned my apple News app today. It sends me article from over 30 magazines and news sources. There was plenty of:
Building better abs
2 Tests of your golf swing\
Lower your risk of heart disease
3 exercises for a bikini model of 50
Today’s best gear deals
Most effective exercises to reverse aging after 50
Russian propaganda to intimidate the west
Elon Musk puts Twitter deal on hold
The arrest of cardinal zen marks a new low in Hong Kong
Biden Democrats’s inflation mess
How to decorate like a french Beauty magnet
Is it better to rent or buy?
Britney Spears loses her “miracle” baby
New York police respond to Buffalo mass shooting
MSNBC column claims homeschooling is racist
Not much, if anything, on family and faith.
But then I dug a little deeper, and in the Atlantic of all places, I found: “The Key to a good parent-child relationship? Low expectations”:
An improvement, but yet another example of family on a contractual basis, not the fundamental strength of our life.
Want to be a true “radical”? Ready to be a true “punk” and counter-culture?
“We’re in such a hurry most of the time we never get much chance to talk. The result is a kind of endless day-to-day shallowness, a monotony that leaves a person wondering years later where all the time went and sorry that it’s all gone. ”
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by Robert M. Pirsig
Focus on family, faith, and freedom, and let out your Eagle cry!
Tuesday May 10, 2022
Sunday May 08, 2022
Sunday May 08, 2022
“A life that is without problems may literally be more hopeless than one that always verges on despair.”
Thomas Merton
Tuesday Dec 14, 2021
Tuesday Dec 14, 2021
The tornados that swept through the center of country have left at least 88 dead, over 15,000 structures destroyed or severely damaged, and current estimates on the cost are almost $4 Billion. There was a warning, but in that moment, nowhere to run.
The silent stillness that often come before a storm can make your skin pop as the barometer changes and the storm clouds begin to invade. The silence after the destruction, whether there is actually silence or not, cuts deep and clarifies. All is meaningless, all is temporal, life is priceless and so vulnerable.
Our spiritual life often follows a similar pattern. We are numb to the behaviors that destroy us. We are broken and overcome by fear and despair. We are left in an existential stillness that strips our ego naked and forces us to face all that matters – our relationships, our faith, our momentary existence.
My god, my god, why has thou forsaken me?
Silence
My youth is gone, my despair is total.
Silence
And we ask, where do we go from here?
Might I suggest moments like this give us an opportunity to create a life focused on meaning, simplified by fire, and fulfilled by relationship and depth.
Long talks. Long walks. Good books. Good food. An expulsion of excess and a rejection of the temporal.
Friday Dec 10, 2021
Friday Dec 10, 2021
What an amazing day of training the NYPD at their magnificent Queens training center.
A warm crowd with officers from incredibly diverse and interesting backgrounds. All of them were motivated to help their fellow officers and families live awesome lives.
A few things I loved about the officers I met:
- Frank and honest
- Proud of their community
- Most grew up there, had family there
- A depth of character
- Thankful and grateful
Great lessons on life that apply to all of us.
Tuesday Dec 07, 2021
Tuesday Dec 07, 2021
A walk through the neighborhoods of Queens, NY reminded me of all I have to be thankful for living in Indiana, and all those in NY have to be thankful for surrounded by the most diverse culture in the world. A walk of dichotomies, it left me with a smile on my face and hope for us all.
Wednesday Dec 01, 2021
Wednesday Dec 01, 2021
One of my favorite songs is the Eagles, The Last Resort. Written and sung by Don Henley, it is a stinging rebuke of our consumer culture. One of my favorite verses,
“Some rich men came and raped the land
Nobody caught 'em
Put up a bunch of ugly boxes
And Jesus people bought 'em”
Greed, and those who preach against greed complicit in it.
You have the power to change your world today, or you can be complicit in the theft of humanity and things that matter.
Change your world means living intentionally. Whatever your situation, you can do that.
It might be becoming a priest.
It might be homesteading.
It might be going back to school.
It might be cutting back your lifestyle so you don’t need two incomes.
It might mean making faith #1 in your life.
But whatever you do, don’t become, or continue to be, one of those Jesus people who preach on Sunday but follow the rich men who rape the land.
Until next time, aim high, spread your wings, and keep your eyes on the things that matter.