All is Well: A Journey in Contemplation

f  Pilgrim

I have never been on a pilgrimage, and yet I am a pilgrim.  A pilgrim on the journey of life. 

A pilgrim is a person who makes a long journey to a sacred place.  The long journey is my life – to be truthful I do not know how long or short it will be - each day is another step on the path.  The sacred place is, maybe, not a ‘place’.  I am seeking the divine and the sacred, which is all around me and within, if only I can open my eyes and see.  Another image of this pilgrimage is ‘waking up’ – life’s journey draws me out of my slumber so that I can connect with the divine.  See the real reality.

What does this spiritual journey look like? Like a physical journey it can move at different speeds.  There will be days when we will be encouraged by our progress; when we feel we have come far.  Equally there will be days when, even though we are trying, we seem to make no progress at all.  There will be the days when we go backwards or need to return to a place and pick up something we left there or leave something that belongs there.  It is not a straight line from A to B!  The spiritual journey involves learning, and it involves ‘un-learning’ – we need to be open to new ideas and recognise the beliefs and ideas that stop us from moving forwards.   There will be times of rest: times when we need to stop and evaluate; times when we simply need to stop and be.  This rest can be significant – it can give us a sense of the divine and help us to discern the direction we are being drawn to.  As with a physical journey there will be uphill climbs in treacherous weather, and there will be flat, wide open plains with the sun on our backs.  Life as a pilgrim will have its ups and downs – its blissful days and its days when we just want to give up.

When we want to give up, where do we go?  Maybe we go back home. And yet isn’t home where we are headed? Our pilgrim journey through life is a forward, progressive journey, that takes us back to where we started.  It takes us back to God: back to the Love that brought us into being.  In many ways it is not helpful to think of the destination.  When we have a destination in mind we start measuring – how far have I come? Or, how long until I get there? These questions feed our egos - our own sense of achievement.  These questions can impede our journey.

Our pilgrim journey is one in which we need to lose our sense of self and our desire to measure.  As Richard Rohr says, it is about ‘awakening, not accomplishing.  You can not get there, you can only be there’¹. We are on a journey and yet we have already arrived at our destination.  Our pilgrimage is taking us deeper into God, and deeper into our souls – that is where we will find what is truly precious.

In this pilgrimage I accompanied by many: I am accompanied by you.   It is an intimate journey and yet it is shared with so many; not only across the planet but across history.  We are all pilgrims on this same journey – we can learn from pilgrims who have come before us and we can learn from each other.

It is so important that we learn from each other.  One way in which my eyes have been opened is in recognising that I can learn from every person I meet.  Each person I have contact with, no matter how limited, has the potential to open up new insights, or to rub off one of my harsh corners, or to teach me about the things inside of myself that I would rather not face.  When I open myself up to another human soul - when I let myself be touched - I am opening myself up to the God who is love and I am letting Love touch me.  It doesn’t always feel like love – I am far from perfect and some people evoke negative feelings in me.  It is also important to acknowledge that some relationships are not healthy: they are harmful.  Yet, without putting ourselves in further harm, can we still open up our souls to what we can learn?  When we open up our souls to those who have hurt us can we find forgiveness?  And through forgiveness God’s healing mercy, compassion and kindness. When we allow this to happen we become a little more like Love.  We make ‘progress’ on our journey.

I am humbled when I think back and remember the experiences I have had in life and the amazing people I have had the privilege to know; even the privilege to call friends.  Friendships flourish when we have the courage to open up to each other and learn from each other.  As I have got older I see that even those whom I have not counted friends, have had an impact on me, have been a part of my journey, and they are also due my thanks.

As intimate and individual as this pilgrimage of mine is, I know that it is intrinsically linked to your pilgrimage and that of humanity.  However deep and wide I dig into my soul, I know that it is part of a bigger soul that belongs to the whole of humanity and is ultimately found in God.  We are all in this together.  We are all pilgrims.