“To journey without being changed is to be a nomad,” writes author and poet, Mark Nepo. “To change without journeying is to be a chameleon. To journey and to be transformed by the journey is to be a pilgrim.”
Right now, the word pilgrim and the concept of being a pilgrim is not part of our every day lexicon. It feels like the word is from centuries long ago. Now, we are just busy people who focus mostly on work and getting lots of things done. We are get there people more than we are being here people.
We forget that the word pilgrim is defined as a person who journeys to a sacred place for religious reasons, or one who travels to a holy place. I think part of the challenge for many people is that we do not think about sacred places or holy places on a regular basis. We are more focused on getting to the grocery store, the mall, or shopping on-line. And if we did think about sacred places or holy places, it would be for a very brief period on a Sunday morning as long as it did not interrupt our plans for the rest of the day.
Nevertheless, there are sacred spaces and holy places all over the world. We could, if we wanted to, or were so moved, travel to these places. But most of the time, we feel we don’t have the time to do it, or don’t want to put in the effort to step outside our comfort zones to engage in the sacred or the holy. It is much easier to touch base with that stuff on Sunday morning and then get back to our getting there focus.
Still, there is one sacred and holy place in life that we can not avoid, namely our own death. As Rainn Wilson in his book, Soul Boom: Why We Need A Spiritual Revolution (Hachette Books, 2023), wrote: “Death is inevitable…. Our personal life span is decreasing continuously day by day.” And he continues, “Death will come, whether or not we are prepared for it.”
For some, this sacred and holy place is defined as an ending. Others define it as a place of special significance. I like the way the poet Rabindranath Tagore defined it: “Death is not extinguishing the light; it is putting out the lamp because dawn has come.” I also like the way Father Gregory Boyle defined it, namely “the last amen and the eternal hallelujah.” In essence, no matter how we define it, we are all going to experience it. Death is part of our life journey, and we are all pilgrims moving in that direction.
As I reflect on being a pilgrim and life’s journey as a pilgrimage, I am reminded of something Father Richard Rohr wrote: “If you do not have someone to guide you, to teach you, to hold onto you during the times of not knowing, not feeling, not understanding, you will normally stay at your present level of growth.” The phrase that speaks to me today is the one that states “If you do not have someone…”. The presence of others, individually or collectively, to transform an experience into a sacred moment is powerful. Their ability to see the truth and to experience the truth is the key to the journey. It also is the key to be transformed by the journey. They help us to be pilgrims by their own willingness to be a pilgrim.
Mark Nepo opened my eyes to this insight when he wrote, “… it is no secret that slowness remembers and hurry forgets; that softness remembers and hardness forgets; that surrender remembers and fear forgets. It is beautifully difficult to remember who we really are. But we help each other every time we fill the cup of truth and hold each other up after drinking from it.” I consider myself extremely lucky that I have people in my life, who have held me up and are holding me up as I drink from the cup of truth. They support me when I choose slowness and softness. They get it when I choose to surrender as a pathway to remembering who I am. They believe in being transformed by life’s journey and they grasp the notion of being a pilgrim. They walk with me and I walk with them as we all move to sacred and holy spaces.
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