Promoting peace and good will for all faith walks . Christmas per a Labyrinth Walk ... recalling an inter-faith gathering and walking on in light of COVID-19 and the hopes engendered per the vaccines ....

Pic Montage: from "Dance & Prayer to Pope Francis at the Baton Rouge Labyrinth, Keith John Paul Horcasitas, LCSW, MHA, 9/27/2015.

- YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDQlbP1rJ50&t=185s&ab_channel=KeithHorcasitas

As I went recently to take a safe COVID-19 promenade at the Baton Rouge City Park on one bright and sunny near-winter solstice morning in December, I reflected back on a poignant previous walk here and also about the difficulties that we've all had with the virus and other turmoil in 2020.

I pondered some hopeful things for the upcoming new year. It was a great way to get some healthy activity done and enrich more than just the physical mode to include emotional and spiritual exercises as well.

While I was on my own for this adventure, taking a dog out for a daily walk is also such a joy - to be out in the neighborhood or park, visiting with neighbors and others, and even providing a type of neighborhood or community watch. After a hard day's work with all the stresses that may come, it is helpful and healthy to take such walks with our canines that can even be seen as a form of prayer.

So since I don't use electronic device on my walks or in my runs around the LSU Lakes, I tried to use this semi-retreat time on the beautiful grounds by the Baton Rouge Gallery for a better appreciation of “the sound of silence,” like the ole Simon & Garfunkel song noted. While I certainly am an affection ado of many types of music when driving or in other venues, these outdoor times are more attuned to the sounds of chirping of birds or chattering squirrels.

So as I had proceeded on this stroll, I soon took some abrupt turns along the way and almost bumped into some others who also enjoyed these types of excursions. Some folks I recognized while others were from varied and diverse backgrounds but all were very friendly – even if we did not exchange words.

At that point on my City Park outing, I was reminded sort of when I had previously been on annual silent retreats at Manresa. After the silence has begun at those yearly gatherings, all retreat participants will occasionally pass one another from time to time without verbalizing and/or making any eye contact or gestures yet still convey a very respectful and loving “space grace.”

As I continued along the way at City Park, I decided to silently pray the rosary while I gingerly moved on with the beads in my hands giving me a sense of balance and stability as well as facilitating it to be a form of walking contemplation. Since I had never been to that part of City Park before, it was like walking into foreign territory, so I almost got lost and off track at times.

At some point, I stopped walking and quietly joined others at a rounded area in prayerful meditation. We all used varied and individual forms to express this. For me, this entailed kneeling down in homage to the humble and simple outdoor stone-like environment. Next, I sensed that I actually was lost and maybe had “passed this way before,” almost like I was unintentionally heading back to where I had initially begun.

Despite all of the above, I then experienced a general sense of peace and serenity as I exited the Baton Rouge Labyrinth and began to notice others doing the same and externally expressing their own form of this harmony from their own faith walk with the Lord. These were all somehow not distractions to what had been an overall emphasis on unity for all of us.

This past walking experience that I noted above actually occurred on May 31, 2008 when many representatives of other faith communities came together at City Park's Reopening Interfaith Gathering held at the Labyrinth, including Rabbi Barry Weinstein of the Temple Shalom in Lafayette, Cleric Emad Nofal of the Islamic Center of Baton Rouge and members from many other Christian denominations, Muslim, Hindu, Zen Buddhist and other traditions.

I couldn't help but recount this event now as I am preparing to promoting more “peace on earth and good will to all” men and women in this Holy Day Season and are hopeful for many things ... especially for the success of the vaccines for COVID-19.

Godspeed to all! Merry Christmas!

BTW: A Virtual Christmas COVID-19 Promenade for Healing & Peace" will be held at The Baton Rouge Gallery City Park Labyrinth on Wednesday, December 23rd, 2020, 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., not long after Winter Solstice Day, and is sponsored by Prayer Care, LLC, a Senior Assessment, Info & Referral Outreach Program.

Keith John Paul Horcasitas, LCSW, MHA, 1133 Knollhaven Drive, BRLA 70810, December 19, 2020.