Who Becomes a Pilgrim?
About 14 years ago, I met this woman named Robyn at a party at the Casa de Bald Guys – a home occupied entirely by bald guys who were mutual friends of ours. She was brash and down-to-earth and irreverent. We hit it off immediately.
Over the years, I came to know Robyn really well. We spent time together at events, hanging out as friends, and eventually we were even in a small women’s circle together taking turns at who ran the circle each week. Robyn was the engineer of the group. She was always figuring out how things worked. She was the underpinning that held the space together. When we did ritual together, I knew she was our metaphorical OSHA representative – making sure everyone was safe. And that’s because, as a friend, Robyn is the bedrock under your feet.
In 2004, when I was launching my real estate training career, I needed to run a booth at the National Association of Realtors Convention – something I had never done before and felt totally out of my depth about. Robyn had run convention booths in the past for her employer, so she offered to help me figure out what I needed and get things arranged. I was incredibly grateful. But she wasn’t done yet. She then took her ONE week of vacation that she got each year and spent it with me helping me to run the booth at the convention. She was there in the morning of the first day providing a little ritual to bring people in to buy products to pay for the trip. She was there when I put out the first product on the table. She was there when I needed to leave the booth to pee. She was there when the onslaught of people at the beginning of the day overwhelmed me. She was there when the editor from AMACOM books came up and said she wanted to publish my book. She was there. And she was there the next year as well when I launched that book into the real estate world.
Over the years, we’ve drifted in and out of each other’s lives. But even so, in 2010, when my mother suddenly passed away, I took refuge at the Daughters of the Earth gathering and as spirit would have it, Robyn was there. At that gathering, there is a grief ritual each year and I decided to attend. But with my mother’s death so fresh and my life in such turmoil, I wasn’t certain I could walk the grief journey alone. Once again – Robyn was there for me. She held my hand, held space, and walked the grief path with me despite our having been out of contact for a few years. She was my rock then as she has always been since the day we met.
And now, it’s my turn to be her rock and I need your help. Robyn is ready. She is ready to fly. She is working to take her engineer brain and stretch it fully into faith in the universe. Spirit has called her to go on a pilgrimage that takes place in 9 days. Spirit only told her about it a week ago and she’s been scrambling trying to make it work. She didn’t have money saved to go. She doesn’t know how she’s going to pay to get there or how she will pay for her trip along the way. A lot of her life has been spent taking care of everyone else and asking for help is the hardest thing she’s ever had to do – and so, surprise!, of course spirit has her starting there for her journey.
Part of the reason that she doesn’t ask for help is because she (and I think many of you have had this same experience) has found over the years that help doesn’t usually come. And this has caused her to lose faith in the universe and its willingness to provide for her. And so I’m asking you to help me restore her faith in the universe – she’s going to need it on her journey. No pilgrim can walk the path without faith.
Any amount you can offer towards the journey is appreciated. $5, $10, $20 or more. Every little bit helps. And it adds your energy into the pilgrimage – giving you a boost in your personal path as well. It has long been known that to help a pilgrim is to perform a sacred act. Please help me. I’ve made a donation to her privately at the same time that I encouraged her to set up the fundraising site that she has created. Not only will you be helping yourself and her in the journey, but you’ll have my appreciation as well.
Here is the link to her site – http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/journey-to-brigid-and-the-fire-within
And please consider forwarding this plea to your friends as well. We only need 100 people to donate $10 each or 10 people to donate $100 to get her there. (She’s already raised $210 as of the writing of this post.)
Namaste