“You are about to enter unchartered territory”
my internal GPS announced
as I sat in traffic
on I-84
northbound.

I looked at my fellow travelers
stuck in their cars
and wondered,
“How is this commute different
from all other commutes,
this pilgrimage,
in a post modern
wilderness?”

Lent starts soon
and giving up chocolate
isn’t unchartered territory.

“We confess…” I thought to myself.
What sort of Lenten discipline
echoes that?
Giving up our addiction to fossil fuels?

Somehow, that sounds like world peace
not only unchartered,
but probably unattainable.

What is attainable,
with God’s help?
How do we discover
our unknown, undone deeds?

How do we become
more conscious
more loving,
while stuck in traffic?

That would be unchartered,
maybe even life changing,
a worthy Lenten discipline.