Finis origine pendet.

The end depends upon the beginning.

Every meaningful journey begins with an explicit destination in mind, a clear concept of what constitutes a successful voyage, the attainment of the contemplated goal.

Being able to define and articulate what ultimately crystallizes in a triumphant arrival at journey’s end, of what is needed to be able say “mission accomplished,” provides the traveler many benefits, especially:

• Clarity of Purpose; and

So, let’s be certain we are all packed, properly prepared and equipped to reap those benefits.

Our purpose is crystal clear.

The terminus is a reverence for life; the ethic of love widened into universality. Our pilgrimage seeks an appreciation of the enormous importance of that simple phrase to all humanity, indeed to all life on our shared home.

Yet as you’ll see along our route we will encounter many questions and challenges. Reflection and growth will arise from surmounting those challenges.

Here is our first conundrum:

If, as many adherents (and I concur) believe, a reverence for life is our spiritual connection to and consequent earthly responsibility for all God’s creatures, then two inquiries promptly surface:

How do we make that connection; and

How do we discharge that responsibility.

Fear not, as we voyage we’ll focus both on how we construct that spiritual connection and from that connection, how we discharge our sacred duty of stewardship of all life.

In fact, as we will learn along the way, from Dr. Schweitzer’s perspective a mystical nexus and terrestrial obligation form a symbiotic relationship, each element nurturing and reinforcing the other.

No worries — we’ll have both occasion and opportunity to develop and then refine our capacity to internalize and administer a reverence for life.

I know, it appears to be a very busy and ambitious itinerary.

Mercifully we possess the signposts and guidebooks, the experience and genius of the world’s foremost spiritual chaperone, Dr. Schweitzer himself.

To complete the preparation and whet your appetite for our jaunt, in the next few columns we’ll meet the great doctor, then learn about his epiphany whence came a reverence for life.

Almost ready to take her out. Welcome aboard.

Bob Echols is a Fairhope resident, cancer survivor, hospice volunteer, board member of Unity on the Eastern Shore church, blogger, author, speaker, animal welfare organization benefactor and executive, corporate attorney and ethics officer and U.S. Army veteran.