I’m usually not particularly moved by sculpture. Sure, I can appreciate some pieces, especially those that resemble familiar objects, like the stylized, yet obvious rendering of a ship at the harbor in Reykjavik. “Walk around it,” one of my friends suggested while I gazed up at the structure. I slowly walked clockwise, gazing from all angles at the sharp silver lines reflecting the sun. It was nice, but I didn’t feel any different after I finished.
Two days later, four of us women drove out of the city in a rental camper van. After some stressful laps around traffic circles, we began our trip circling Iceland on the popular Ring Road. After six full days of waterfalls, geysers, glaciers, puffins, rain, hot baths, craters, a flat tire, beaches, and more rain, we returned to where we had started. And, I am changed.
Circumambulation around a sacred object or site is a spiritual practice found in many religions. The first image to come to mind may be the blur of pilgrims circumambulating the ka’aba in Mecca. In the Christian tradition, the space in Romanesque and Gothic churches where one can walk around the central nave is called the “ambulatory.”
When we travel, we move around and through different places in our world. I am starting this blog to explore how we are changed through the practice of circumambulating the globe and the moments we find sacred along the way. I will also post my travel itineraries, as I find others’ to be useful resources when I am planning a trip.
Circumambulating the Globe 