Pilgrimage

There are many pilgrimages to choose from on our little planet, but the one I know and love is The Camino de Santiago de Compostela, as pictured above, and have walked this same route twice from St Jean Pied-de-Port in France, to Finisterre and Muxia on the Francés route. There has been some interest in walking as therapy, going as far back to Saint Augustine who said, “Solvitur Ambulando,” or, it is solved by walking. I see pilgrimage as a beautiful and natural convergence of counsel, occupational therapy and spirit.

 

Often people associate pilgrimage with religious motivation, but for many, it has little to do with religion. It is a journey into the unknown, separating oneself from day-to-day life, undertaking a challenge and returning changed. What makes it different than simply going on a hike, is that the pilgrim goes in search of something, some new understanding, personal growth, the answer to a puzzle, a search for meaning or connection to something greater. That something could be divine in the classical sense of a God figure, it could be the divine in oneself, or it could be Nature.

 

Challenge is to be expected on pilgrimage. It tests us. Just as we always see in nature, that is where we grow, at the stress points. It is most important to find the balance that is "just right" for you.