Ever thought of making a pilgrimage??? Robert Fulghum has... March 13, 2014 Seattle, Washington Second week of March, 2014 Clear, breezy, Looking back over my recent postings I note a drift into the dark side. A hangover from a winter state of mind. There was a piece about the explosive consequences of intestinal flu - gross. Followed by a story about gastric happenings with little children – gross. And a graphic account of a cultish collection of used chewing gum – also gross. What next? Maggots? Nasal discharge? Fungus infections? Enough of gross. Here’s something off in a different direction. . . . PILGRIMAGE (Note: before you read any further, click to this link to see the world-wide activity to which that word most commonly refers. https://google/search?q=%25s&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=H2siU6KEKM3ooATgjICACA&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1442&bih=773#q=pilgrimage&tbm=isch) A man I know wears a gold signet ring on the 4th finger of his right hand. It’s a somewhat pretentious affectation because, by the rules of British Heraldry, he may not be entitled to claim or use the crest. In truth his genealogical record is pretty sketchy. More like ancestral shrubbery than a family tree. But it’s a very American inclination to reach back into history for some confirmation of genetic identity – to be “royal” or “knightly” or “lordly” and to have relevant roots in the soil of deep history. So he wears the “family crest” more in speculation than historical fact. A harmless piece of personal theater, I suppose. It has occurred to him that it ought to be enough to say that, if you are alive, you are a descendant of hardy survivors – those with whatever it took to get past wars, plagues, massacres, catastrophe, and all the destructive events life can put in the way of going on. It’s certain that if you are reading this that you come from hardy stock. If you are alive, it means your ancestors prevailed against all odds. And whether or not it was luck or physical health or inner strength, you have the instincts and wherewithal of survival built into your very being. Moreover, if you already have descendants and they are alive, then you’ve passed your survivorship on to the next generation. This is living reality, not just speculative genealogy. The man I know wears his signet ring for a specific reason. It’s connected to the concept of pilgrimage. There are six small scallop shells engraved on the crest on the ring. Most likely added long ago – perhaps in Medieval times. By heraldic tradition each shell indicates that some member of the family made the pilgrimage journey on the Way of Santiago de Compostella in Spain to the cathedral shrine said to contain the bones of St. Mark, one of the disciples of Jesus. The scallop shell is the sign of St. Mark – worn by the pilgrims to this day. From wherever one begins in Europe, the overland journey to the western end of Gallicia was and still is arduous and dangerous – an expression of perseverance of body and spirit. Yet thousands of seekers continue to make that pilgrimage – many are already on the Way as you are reading this. The man I know has thought about going on a pilgrimage for a long time. When he is driving along on a road trip he glances down at the ring on his hand on the wheel and ponders about making a pilgrimage. (see Facebook photo. facebook/robertleefulghum) And he’s not alone in his inclination. It’s estimated that more than 200 million people a year go on pilgrimages. Think Mecca, Jerusalem, Benares, Lhasa, Salt Lake City, St. Peter’s in Rome, and Stonehenge – just to name a few of the major destinations. To see the Pope, the Dalai Lama, the Patriarch, or a guru. By plane, train, boat, bus, horse, car, bicycle – walking - and even crawling on hands and knees, as is the custom in Tibet. The pilgrim’s journey moves one into poetic language – soul, spirit, mind, sacred, holy, God, life after death, salvation, imagination - all notions we use and believe in but can’t objectively, rationally prove the existence or location of. Pilgrimage is broadly used to refer to a focused journey – often secular. “Going back home” is the big one. Walking long-distance trails or paths is another. Touring famous historical sites of battles can have pilgrimage intent. There are even suggestive guides to great sites: One hundred Places to See Before You Die – or, more ambitious, One Thousand Places To See Before You Die. You likely have your own bucket list of personal goals. Someday I’d like to see . . . or go back to . . . or experience . . . we say. But in its simplest, purest form a pilgrimage is a religious journey undertaken to gain spiritual merit or favor from whatever gods you believe in. It’s a metaphysical desire to connect to something supernatural. Even those who say they are not religious are respectful of those who are when it comes to going on a pilgrimage – not just respectful, but even a little envious. And it’s not uncommon for the non-religious to walk the same paths as the religious with the same destination in mind. The only difference is the language used to explain the urge and the results. Pilgrimage is a serious idea – just ask someone if they have ever thought about it, and you’ll usually get a thoughtful reply. In talking to pilgrims and reading the accounts of their journey, some commonalities emerge when the great Why? is addressed. People set out on a Pilgrim’s Way in order to: Move out of the traffic pattern of their daily lives and focus with purpose. To simplify their needs and wants. To reframe their lives in a meaningful way. To test themselves physically, emotionally, and spiritually. To search for something – though they can’t always say just what. To do penance – repent of transgressions and rebalance their inner scales. To gain merit – and achieve a sense of personal worth. And that’s just a few of the many, many reasons given for pilgrimage. The man I know came close to a Pilgrim’s Way three times. Years ago, in springtime in Paris, he joined a group of pilgrims in the square outside the Cathedral of Notre Dame and walked several blocks with them down the Rue St. Jacque towards Spain – as his ancestors probably did. But a few blocks with the chattering pilgrims reminded him of a mobile cocktail party – without the benefit of cocktails – and he decided this wasn’t his group. Later on he drove along the pilgrim’s route in Spain and considered those who had been on the road for several weeks. They looked worn and tired and stressed. Blistered feet, sunburned faces and hands, overloaded backpacks. Trudging along – now mostly in silence. But still not his group. On another occasion, on the Japanese Island of Shikoku, he visited the beginning of the Henro Michi, the great pilgrimage to 88 shrines established by Kobo Daishi, the 9th Century ascetic who founded Shingon Buddhism. The full circuit is 870 Miles around and takes at least two months to walk. But he is not a Buddhist or Japanese – and the flock-like pilgrim groups did not seem all that different from those in France and Spain. An English-speaking Japanese priest had some wisdom for him: “The pilgrimage begins when you think about going. What you do next is not a matter of how far you go or how long you’re gone, but what you do with the desire to go.” So the man created a short, personal pilgrim’s route near his writing retreat in the mountains of southeastern Utah. It takes him only an hour to walk it. It begins and ends outside his door and continues up a dry creek bed. It is a Way of Water – changing with every flood and flow. Along the banks he buried small, worthless objects that had meaning for him, and placed a cairn of rocks over each place – mini-shrines. From time to time, when he gets frazzled by daily-ness, he makes his pilgrimage. He returns in a refreshed, reframed state of mind. Not far, not long, but sufficient for that day. Even on this smaller scale it’s still a Sacred Way for him. As to the god’s part in this. . . he cannot say . . . The journey is the reward. Over the years, when he returns from his pilgrimage and reflects on it, these thoughts have come to mind and have been written in his Pilgrim’s Diary: Life is hard enough without deliberately making it harder to test yourself. The grass is not greener on the other side of the fence – it’s greenest where it’s watered – when you travel, carry water. The success of the pilgrimage is not what you get from it, but what you invest in it. Pain and suffering don’t lead to high-grade enlightenment or else there would be a lot of enlightenment around since so many people live a life of pain and suffering. Testing yourself may lead to getting a low grade. Letting go of your ordinary life for a time is not the same as giving up on it. The holiest place may be right where you are – it’s just how you think about it. Whatever gods there are, they are everywhere at all times – not ever far away. It’s not how far you go or how long you are gone but how you feel about the each step of the journey. What you imagine when you leave for a pilgrimage will not match the reality of what you find when you arrive – there’s always surprise waiting for you. Better than being a pilgrim is to be a flaneur – a wanderer who loafs about with eyes and ears and mind and spirit open, inviting surprise. He who travels best, travels alone. Will the man I know ever make a Big Pilgrimage? Maybe, maybe not. It’s still not out of the realm of possibility. . . About the time you are reading this he will be crossing the Columbia River and driving out onto the plains of Eastern Oregon – on his way from Seattle, Washington to Moab, Utah – driving alone – and looking down from time to time at the scallop shells on his ring – thinking about pilgrimage. (see Facebook photo. facebook/robertleefulghum ) When he gets to his home in Utah, the first thing he will do is to walk out his door and on up his pilgrim route in the creek bed, touching base with the markers of his sense of the journey of his life. He wants to settle the mud in his mind so that the water in the spring of his spirit runs clear and free again. His goal is just to be right where he is and make that sacred for the time being. And you? How about you – ever thought about making a pilgrimage? And . . . .? robertfulghum/index.php/fulghumweb/entry/3273_pilgrimage/
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 08:55:05 +0000
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