I’ve been on several pilgrimages before, virtually. Even though my pilgrimages have been virtual, I have always tried to respect the process of being a pilgrim and being on a pilgrimage, as if my pilgrimages were real. This helps me have more of the full experience of the journey.
In that spirit of pilgrimage, I’ve published the following blog posts already:
- Longing for… (about the longing that precedes the call to a pilgrimage)
- The Call (to pilgrimage; about the Outer Journey)
- The Inner Journey (a pilgrimage is always as much about the inner journey as the outer experience)
- Life as Pilgrimage (what would it be like if we thought of our lives as pilgrimages?)
And before I begin to post my weekly on-the-walk visual journal pages, with maps and sketches and questions and quotes, I’m immersed in the following stages of pilgrimage, and so I want to write about them too:
- Preparation (this post)
- Threshold
- Departure and the Route
For me, the preparation for a pilgrimage consists of becoming clear about the answers to the following questions:
- What do I take?
- What do I leave behind?
I’ve read enough memoirs about pilgrimage to know that the answers to those questions aren’t always fully clear when a pilgrim takes their first step on their journey. Often, there is a continual shedding and refining of what is needed to leave behind, and to take, as the journey unfolds.
And, because my pilgrimage is virtual, what I need to leave and to take is virtual, or inner.
Here is what I want to leave behind:
- Beliefs that I don’t have enough time to devote to my pilgrimage activities and reflections
- Physical stuff that I don’t need anymore; I want to embark on a clearing mission
- Wavering about my commitment to this journey
- Any unnecessary distractions
Here is what I want to take with me:
- Stamina (I want to take care of myself more consciously and deliberately)
- Commitment to reorient my attention and awareness to presence in the moment
- My trust in the unfolding of the journey (ie, be ok with not knowing what’s ahead)
- My wholehearted “Yes!” to this pilgrimage
How do you want to prepare for your journey?
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