Taking the Journey of a Pilgrim – Nomadism is being a pilgrim without being changed along the way. Changing without journeying is like being a chameleon. A pilgrim is someone who journeys and is transformed by the journey. As pilgrims, we all look forward to journeying and hoping that the journey will transform us.
The problem is, in the same way, that it is impossible to listen to an orchestra for long before being drawn to just the piano or violin, our attention to life slips and we experience people and places without being able to appreciate their wholeness.
Occasionally, we hide or change what lives inside to avoid or please others, feeling isolated and unsure. It is not useful to judge ourselves or berate ourselves, but rather to help each other appreciate that integrity is not the outcome of our slightest lapses, but the result of letting our inner experience and our outer experience complete each other. Because I violate these things so often, I understand them so well.
As with you, I see myself as a journeyer, one who transcends every creed and tradition into that compelling, recurring space where we live in the moment and are changed by it. As mysterious as it may seem, this moment shows us the sacredness of what is real, even when it is elusive.
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Take a moment to center yourself and without judgment recall a time when you refused to be shaped by your experience. You can feel the presence of time simply by feeling it.
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Take a moment to remember a time when you changed yourself for another’s benefit. Become aware of the presence of time once again.
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While you soften, think about a time when you had a journey and were changed as a result. There is a sense of presence this time.
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In accepting all of this, give thanks without judgment. Embrace your human nature and give thanks.
Taking the Journey of a Pilgrim – Nomadism is being a pilgrim without being changed along the way. Changing without journeying is like being a chameleon. Photo Credit – Pexels
