Journey Home

There is a story about a Basque countryman who decided one day to walk from Spain to Kathmandu, India-- he began walking with no money, only a toothbrush, diary and a pen-- He made it-- I love this story, walking home-- the bareness of the road, the simplicity. Imagine leaving somewhere and then not having to worry about so many things first, before you leave. This countryman just started walking-- he knew that outwardly there was not a lot he needed, but inwardly he had the ferocity of intention to complete the journey.

Many of the kids at JDC leave the home they know (JDC) and walk into a life they are not prepared for with nothing more than they were booked with, when they were booked, this could be one week, or one year later-- outwardly some would say they were in need, no one worries abou them inwardly-- no one wonders where they will go, they are just gone. Many of the kids that I have an opportunity of getting to know, are scared to death of this moment, they long for the simplicity of JDC, like the Basque countryman, they love not having to worry about so many things first, they are just walking through life, with no outward need--- their life before JDC had a ferocious need to complete anything and JDC is their journey and they LOVE it-- they love the structure (muscle energy), the ability to have certain times of the day where they know what comes next-- many people would argue that the kids don't have to think or make decisions in JDC, but I would argue with tenacity that the kids now have the time to think, to sit with themselves and decide how they want to live (organic energy). Yes kids are bitter at first, but they are in mourning, they mourn their old life, no matter how hard or scary, or unsafe it was, it was theirs-- and they miss their parents no matter how absenct, how scary, how abusive, or how high they were, they were theirs. In JDC you are given a boundary (muscle energy) and you have the opportunity to grow from there (organic energy). Most of the kids love the idea of boundary, they become kids, they don't have to be parents and kids at the same time, they get to hold onto the boundary(muscle energy) and find themselves. Talk about a journey home a ferocity for inner intention. These are put in place in JDC, they places for the kids to feel safe, muscle energy brings about safety, a boundary to open against with integrity. In response, the kids like the Basque man walk, on a journey, they just walk into or away from their lives.... the journey is not outward, it is inward they walk inside the heart of themselves.