The Pilgrimage of Life…..Last week I walked for 100k along the “El Camino de Santiago” in France and Spain– with my wife Cathy. This is a 900+k trail that has been in existence for many centuries, through a string of villages and churches that are about 4k apart where you can usually find food and lodging for pilgrims. It ends at a Cathedral on the Atlantic Coast of Spain, where the body of James the brother of Jesus is said to be buried. First of all, this was an experience of disconnecting from the busy-ness, rush and stress that characterizes modern city life; An experience of disconnecting from the virtual reality of computers, smart phones and TV screens; An experience of returning to one of the most basic functions for which the human body is designed: walking for 4-5 hours a day; An experience of not knowing exactly where you are going to eat your next meal or spend your next night. From the physical standpoint, it brought the realization that our bodies belong to nature. They are more attuned to the natural environments found in the more than 90% of the world’s land surface that is still rural, country-side…and less so to the 10% of the land surface that is urban - where we now spend nearly all our lives. Our bodies are also designed for movement. Life is always characterized by movement, so when we are simply walking - all the body systems– the circulatory, respiratory, muscular system etc. - come into a more harmonious, healthy rhythm and condition. For centuries people having been taking pilgrimage to holy places, like Mecca or Jerusalem, with the expectation that when they reach there – they will be blessed, be healed, be transformed, etc. The difference now-a-days is that you can hop on a bus, train or airplane and reach such places in a few hours. But, I hear there is often a let-down in what is encountered on arrival. I have friends who have been to the birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem and they expressed disappointment on what they found: a small metal plaque of some sort in a highly commercialized environment. In the past it wasn’t like this. Pilgrim journeys took weeks and months to complete. And in that process something important was realized….it was actually the journey itself that was transformational to one’s soul…not what was found at the destination. I’m suspecting that something similar may be true of the journey of life. We are longing to reach heaven and experience its blessings…but it may well be that when we will look back - we may just realize that it was actually life’s difficult journey that contained the blessings – the opportunities that turned our trials into gold for our souls. Think about it: If heaven had all we needed – why would we need to be born at all in the first place? Why bother to take up a body and live a funny human life? There must be something that we are gaining by taking this pilgrimage. In reality we are spirit beings, so to find your self in human form on planet earth means we came here from somewhere else. So somewhere along the line - we all made the choice to move into the adventure of this dense material world we call ‘physical reality’. But, why? Unfortunately, from where we stand now we can’t remember where this journey began from and why we took it in the first place?? And that is part of the human experience - to discover purpose and meaning in being here. But, instead we often like to complain about our ‘bad luck’ or we get stuck on detours of chasing pleasure, fame and money – all of which has no lasting value to the soul. In this way we waste year after year- going in circles instead of advancing. And also, in this way, many die without making much spiritual progress. But, on the grander - ‘eternal scheme of things’ there must be something of value that can be gained from this pilgrimage of life. There must be something we gain from this experience that can be put to good use somewhere else - beyond what we can currently envision from this plane. Otherwise what is the point of it all? I have come to the conclusion that this physical world is not necessarily lesser than other realms - it just serves a different purpose. In fact, we are told that, in the beginning when it was all being set up - after God created it all, He sat back, took along look at it and said: “Hmmm….it’s very good!” (Genesis 1:31) This world contains conditions that are particularly ideal for the growth of the soul, why else would we have chosen it? There must be certain soul qualities like courage, persistence, faith and wisdom that can only be acquired here rather than in other realms. So, maybe we should not be so eager to get out of here – to get off the journey and fly off to our next destination. Maybe we should spend more time trying to make the most of the experience. And, maybe it’s true as one sage put it: “We don’t go to heaven, we grow to heaven.” After all, the Apostle Paul in one of his letters talks about being ‘caught up to the third heaven.’ So, there must be many levels…as Jesus said: “In my father’s house are many mansions.” But, it would make sense that we are not fit to dwell in the higher spiritual realms until we have qualified for it by a substantial transformation of heart, mind and soul. And this seems to require some significantamount of “ground-work.” And in the final analysis, one of the greatest and most difficult skills to be learned, seems to be, to walk through it all - all the storms, dark nights and stony paths - while living fully in joy at the same time. The Master in the art of living put it this way: “In this world you will have trials…but be of good cheer!” When we learn this, we will understand that: eternal life begins now. Love, joy and peace begins now. And, although salvation depends on faith - the growth of the soul depends on faithfulness: Walking out this path up to the end and faithfully learning all the lessons for soul development along the pilgrimage of life.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 07:52:22 +0000
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