Keeping the Faith

Yesterday I woke up to news of a mass shooting at a church (Sutherland Springs) and massive greed (the Paradise Papers). These days, it’s hard to have faith in humanity when humanity has so little regard for itself.

Thankfully, I had already planned a getaway.

I was headed to Kreuth, a Bavarian village that, since 1442, has hosted a procession on November 6 honoring St. Leonard, patron saint of horses.

Single riders were
interspersed with
horse-drawn carriages.
This rider began the procession,
holding a flag of St. Leonard.

For me the trip was less about the saint, of course, and more about honoring tradition and a “simpler” way of life.

The train pulled out of grey, rainy Munich but when we hit the Bavarian countryside, it was snowing. 

On the bus ride from the train station to the town, I was surprised to hear the pre-recorded bus stop announcements being made by a child. It all set the stage for a wondrous day.

Of course, nothing is ever so idyllic as we imagine, but watching neighbors greet each other as they found their viewing spots on the main road, and children chase each other with snowballs as we waited for the parade of horses and wagons, was pretty close.

Most of the wagons were wooden, with wooden wheels. They held members of traditional local clubs or societies.

During the entire procession, you heard the jangle of 

the bells on the horses. There were also two wagons 

with bands in them. Here's a snippet of the first 

(and then my phone died).

Thankfully, I was able to carry that peaceful feeling with me as I shivered in the bus hut for 45 minutes past the departure time, which made me miss my original train, and my phone (with my train ticket on it) died twice.

And the feeling stayed with me as I left the winter wonderland and returned to a gloomy, chilly Munich and set about the mundane tasks of grabbing a late lunch, picking up packages, and planning the rest of my week.

Sometimes we just need a reset to remember what’s important. Whatever it takes: patron saint, snowy scene, tech timeout, walk in the park, etc.

Today is an election day for some places in the U.S., and I hope my fellow Americans take a moment to reset / restore / renew their faith in themselves. 

But even beyond today, it's important to remember it takes a moment to bring us down, but it can also take a moment to bring us back up. And each of us, no matter where we are or where we come from, need to have faith in the importance of what we say, what we do, and the legacy we leave behind us.