Brandon Wilson, who has walked many pilgrimages in different parts of the world, wrote the following description, which for me is the one that best encapsulates my sentiments. Thanks Brandon for putting it so eloquently!
“A pilgrimage is the act of deliberate travel; traveling outside while traveling within. It is a chance to reconnect with the earth, to listen, to face your inner self, to actively commune with a greater power.
A pilgrimage is a refuge from the din and clutter of the outside world. It is a 4th dimension to appreciate life's wonder and revel in its minutiae. It is the heady aroma drifting from fields of thyme, or the drone of bees in a sun-dappled forest. It is autumn frost blanketing a multi-hued trail, or the rough grain of your walking stick rubbing against your palm.
A pilgrimage is time devoted purely to the present. There is no past, no future, only now. Your world is your breath, a heartbeat reverberating in your ears, a Zen-like placing of each footstep along a well-trod path.
A pilgrimage is a trampoline for the mind, a purging for the soul. It is a thousand small moments. It is unexpected acts of kindness and fleeting revelations. It is surrendering to fate, spontaneity, an absolute unknown, and small arrows that light your way.
A pilgrimage is a solitary journey. Yet as you traverse this portal between past and present, you pay homage to those who have gone this way before while leaving your essence for those who pass long after you are gone.
A pilgrimage is traveling lightly. Just as you leave most of your worldly belongings behind, on the trail there is a gentle unraveling of fears, emotions, desires and demons as you surrender unwanted psychic baggage to the universe.
A pilgrimage is letting go, then discovering, and in truth be found.
A pilgrimage is peace personified, one deliberate step at a time. When serenity is found within, how long can our world remain without?
Each pilgrim's journey is unique. It can never be repeated. Yet it continues long after we return home to
distant shores. It is my passion, my reason for being. This is one pilgrim's journey.”
© 2008, Brandon Wilson
Many writers have commented that one of the differences between a pilgrimage and a long walk is the sense of being called. It’s like a temporary vocation and not just a mild case of itchy feet. The need to go on pilgrimage often announces itself through a series of chance events and synchronicities. Circumstances seem to be rearranging themselves and ganging up on you.
Someone commented “The feeling is not so much one of choosing but of being chosen. The commitment to go is not so much a decision as an acceptance” and I agree completely – I’ve argued at length with a close friend about never having actually ‘decided’ to walk the Camino.
Another person comments : “Well, I`ve walked the camino eight times now and know the various distinctive feelings associated with it very well, from the dawning news that I`ve grown stale and must go again, to that piercing nostalgia, usually mid-winter and late at night, for the intense and simple clarity the camino yields. Ah, there it is, the camino calls.” I too have had ‘the call’ on many occasions since – and in 2010 I will again answer the call!