THE BOTTOMS PILGRIMAGE

Friday was a good day. I have not taken time out in a long while to simply "BE" in solitude. I could really feel myself needing to take the time out to have some quiet, contemplation and conversation with God.

So after a half day at work I headed somewhere pretty close to home- Shelby Park's "Bottoms" area.

The East Bank Greenway, known to locals as Shelby Bottoms is a wonderful gem right in the middle of the East Nashville area. This one-half mile trail adjacent to the football stadium provides great views of the Cumberland river and downtown Nashville. It also features interesting artworks reflecting the industrial history of Nashville on the Cumberland.

After arriving I sat on a bench and started the time with midday prayer from Divine Hours. Then as I walked the greenway trail I stopped every so often and reflected on 2 of the 7 last words of Christ, along with readings from Stanley Hauerwas' book Cross Shattered Christ.

One of the cool features of the park are the native american circles that one finds at different locations on the trail. One of the signs that tells about the circles shares that these circles represent sacred spaces where humans intermingle with the divine. So as I approached one of these circles I found myself walking around in the circle praying one of the phrases from my scripture reading.

We had quite a bit of rain in recently so the river was up and the creek areas of the trail were pretty swampy. The sound of frogs filled the entire trail- it was pretty crazy loud.

As I came to the end of the walk and the end of prayer I ended as I began- with the Divine Hours- saying the Lords Prayer as I walked a prayer circle and then the closing prayer for that day.

Thinking back to Friday I realize how badly I need days like that on a regular basis.