And He said, Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord. And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of gentle stillness and a still, small voice.

(1 Kings 19:11-12)

On a recent trip to Praiano, on the Amalfi Coast in Italy, I decided to climb up to the ‘Way of The Gods’ 580 meters above sea level. It is an ancient walking route with spectacular views of the coast. It took me almost three hours to climb up to the path in the mid-day sun from the town so I didn’t get to walk any of the path itself (mad dogs and Englishmen and all that!) It was a great sense of achievement though, to get there, and the views were indeed spectacular. The journey, being as important as the destination, revealed and reinforced insights as spectacular as the view at the end.

I had seen many large and expensive yachts sailing up and down the coast during my time in Praiano. Half way up the mountain, hot, thirsty and tired, I began to fantasize about being on a yacht I could see out in the sea. I imagined myself sunbathing on the deck, being served champagne and exotic fruits. I asked myself this question, where would I prefer to be right now? It’s not that I wouldn’t like to be on a yacht some time in the future…fantasies are just that, fantasies. I was happy where I was, doing what I was doing. I had a mission, I had a goal and reaching that goal was a process to delight in. Sure I was hot, tired and thirsty and my legs ached but every step of the way was meaningful. There is a great new agey saying ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’ and I agree because I’ve learn t that with God we can delight in the small stuff, even if it is tough going.

As I came close to the top of the mountain I came in view of an old bath tub which was being used as a trough…and lo and behold there was a stanchion with a water tap. My water bottle was getting low and the heat was getting too much. Overjoyed that the tap actually worked, I plunged right in (well as much as I could). I must have had my head under that tap for at least five minutes…it was pure heaven! It is often the small things in life that provide us with the greatest of insights. St. Francis appreciated this when he called everything his brother and sister, when he talked to the birds and picked up worms from the footpath lest they get trodden underfoot. So if you are not in a great place emotionally or spiritually at the moment, I say ‘go climb a mountain’ and ‘delight in the small stuff!’

Ciao Fratelli e sorelle…grazie a Dio