Simon Robson- Blog 10- Image and Pilgrimage Reflection

Pilgrimage's Intentions

 Simon Robson

12/12/2020

Today as I sat and read from the book “Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture” I thought more about the term pilgrimage and what exactly it was. While this book is full of things about it, I felt like it may just be easier to look up a solid definition of what pilgrimage is. I found this definition which although was just the first to pop up I also felt like it made sense and did a good job describing it: “A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life.” After this I wanted to know if I had ever embarked on a pilgrimage. 

To my knowledge I had never embarked on a journey to an unknown or foreign place with the intentions of seeking new or expanded meaning about myself, others, nature, or a higher good. However, I felt like it was possible that although I had not gone on journeys with these intentions I think that some of my journeys had these effects anyways. As someone who grew up in the Shenandoah valley there's a lot of beautiful scenery and spaces around the mountains. I have done a lot of hiking, camping, kayaking and more which I think has led to some of these effects that were laid out in the definition of pilgrimage. I especially think that these experiences provided me with greater meaning of myself and of nature. To be able to go out and experience the natural world all the time and be among the trees and the animals and the mountains was an important part of making me who I am today and understanding more about what I want in life. 

Another journey that I went on that I think may have had these kinds of effects on me was when I studied abroad. I did a one month long study abroad in Luxembourg, but while we were there we were also able to travel around to different places on the weekends. While the entire trip as a whole definitely had some of these effects on me I think that the individual smaller trips were even more notable in this aspect. When we would leave Luxembourg for the weekend we were on our own. No professors or chaperones. Nothing to help us and we travelled to places we had never been and saw cultures we were completely unfamiliar with. Attempting to navigate our way through these countries and overcome the language barriers while also trying to learn more about these different cultures brought to me a much greater meaning of other as well as a much greater meaning of self. While we were abroad we visited a castle in Austria, a music festival in Amsterdam, and the Vatican City in Rome. All of these trips had very unique effects on me yet they all led to these increased meanings as explained in the definition of pilgrimage.

So, whether or not it is possible to go on a pilgrimage without the intention of it or not I am still not sure. I am sure, however, that through some of my journeys I have had the same experiences and realizations as one should have from a pilgrimage. I will seek to go on a real pilgrimage and intentionally work for these goals soon. 

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