The Royal Road

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The ‘City of Saint Francis’ and the ‘City of the Angels’ are connected by an ancient road, the Royal Road. And while this road in its current existence is a highway connecting both cities, it still bears the markers of its historic past. At one time the Royal Road didn’t necessarily connect those two cities ~ the  600 mile road connected the 21 Franciscan Missions and their support sites.

In a certain sense this makes this road what I would call a Sacred Site line ~ an energy line connecting two or more sacred sites that have a similar energy with each other...

Pondering this for a bit, there are several observations that strike me as interesting...
First, the ‘City of Saint Francis’ is situated ‘above’ the ‘City of the Angels’. I would have expected to see it the other way around, as the Angels are Heavenly Beings, while Saint Francis was a good hearted, and likely enlightened human being.
Another thing is the way the Royal Road has transformed itself from the ancient trail into the highway it is in this present time.
Most other ‘Sacred Site lines’ I have worked with or travel along are a lot more quiet ~ even can have a contemplative energy. Some were, and still are pathways of pilgrimage. Roads one would travel with the goal to visit this sacred place one would find at the end. And walking this pathway usually was a transformative experience in its own right ~ especially in those days when one would take the time to actually walk that road...

The Royal Road is now traveled at speeds that often exceed 70 miles per hour. And if there is anything being pondered while taking that journey, it might well be the question how fast we will reach our destination...
And while the Royal Road still bears its ancient name, it will not take you to visit all the old Missions anymore. To do that, one has to get of the highway and travel to a much quieter space; at a much more leisurely pace ~ into a more peaceful environment. A peace that both, the ‘City of Saint Francis’ and the ‘City of the Angels’ seem to have lost...

When I take all of this in to consideration when I observe my own, personal ~ even spiritual path I can’t help to come to the conclusion that the place to express myself ~ spiritually or otherwise ~ is in my daily, mundane life. Making the way I live my everyday life perhaps even more important than ‘living the way of the Angels’... On top of that ~ while I may have a tendency to rush from one place to the next; transformation and peace are found when I live my life one step at a time...
That then, truly is a ‘Royal Road’!
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