Where are the magi?

I was reading a story about how the faint light of an mp3 player led rescuers to a skier and snowboarder lost in the Swiss mountains over the weekend, when I noticed that the magi over at Meredith's blog are still wandering around.

They encountered giant stuffed sea creatures days ago, a scene that made me think of Homer's Odyssey as the three small ceramic figures found themselves surrounded by stuffed, glow colored amphibians.

Fortunately, they wended their way through and continued on their journey (which was stalled for weeks when they became transfixed on velcro rollers. A reader remarked that perhaps they thought the rollers were a giant Advent wreath.)

Who could blame them? Like all pilgrims, led by a desire and intention to experience a source of awe, the magi pace their journey accordingly. It isn't always easy. Some feel world weary at times.

A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For the journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.'
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty and charging high prices:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.  [T.S. Eliot The Journey of
the Magi]

Folly? I don't know. A pilgrim's spiritual path  leads him or her
away from the mundane to a greater understanding and deeper
appreciation of what lies ahead. Seeing the world through
the eyes of the magi reminds me of the
importance of my spiritual bearings as I listen to story after
story from 2008, lists of "the best of 2008" and commentaries on
what happened last year and what will happen next year.

It isn't always clear what I'm seeing when I first happen upon
it, but I know that if I journey with a sense of hope and certainty,
my pilgrimage will lead me in the right direction.

I wish everyone a happy new year.