Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

On the return home from a very long international flight I found myself standing at O’Hare baggage claim with the rest of the passengers waiting for my bag to slip down the chute onto the carousel. I became alert once the mechanism activated and the first of the bags started their descent onto the carousel. Everyone crowding around the edge, eyes all focused on each piece of luggage. Would mine be there? Did it make the tight connection?  Hundreds of bags slowly presented themselves, slipped down the chute and onto the carousel. All bags as different as the passengers. Different sizes, shapes, softness, colors. Each containing the belongings of those tired travelers. No sign of mine.   Slowly bags are claimed and removed. Less people now and I’m trying not to worry. I’m looking for a large, soft sided, dark blue case with some red yarn tied to the handle. Lots of dark blue cases but  not mine. I found myself mesmerized by the slowly circling bags and reflecting ...

It’s almost summer and the vacation season is here.   That means travel and for some of us, the worst of all experiences is lost luggage.   We think so hard and long (usually) about what to pack for our adventure we are completely lost when we don’t have all we thought we needed. But wait – maybe this summer is a time to think about choosing to lose some of our luggage – or baggage – if you prefer.   Maybe this is the time to loosen our grip on all that stuff we think we need, all that stuff that acts as a buffer or barrier between us and the wounded world, between a deeper relationship with the Divine, between me and the self I don’t always like to confront.   I have begun to pack early for a trip.   I let everything just sit in the suitcase, and then, as the time gets closer, with reflection, I start unpacking, because I realize how little I truly need.   May these days find you with time to reflect on the luggage you’d like to lose and br...