"Though the long tracks know no glad step,
And the circle goes unblessed.
From their long homes may the old ones
Welcome travellers upon their quest."
___ Caitlin Matthews, "Pilgrim's Blessing"
Pilgrimage is a step beyond tourism, which merely comesd to look at places and enjoy them; pilgrimage involves a deeper engagement with the land, with the sacred nature of the experience that is had not only at the destination but along the route as well. Those who travel with spiritual purpose find pleasure and enjoyment no less than the tourist, but the experience is colored by the reality of their contact with the unseen world - not only with the apparent landscape about them, but with its inhabitants and guardians.
When we re-engage with the sacred places of our spiritual heritage, the ability to be a pilgrim affects our experience of the places we visit: the ability to see beyond the desacralization, the skill to travel the road with expectant and prayerful hearts, the greeting we send out - before we even begin to travel - to the ancestral guardians and spiritual presences who have awaited our coming this long time.
In pilgrimage, it is the ability to give blessing upon the places we visit, rather than seek blessing for ourselves in our travel, that is most appreciated. In offering our blessing, we are able to resacralize both the way and the site: for if we become alive to the generous and sacred nature of each place, so may many others; and we will have become guardians and pilgrims of a new generation for all the generations to come.
"Make your own pilgrimage to a special or sacred place during the wintertime, drawing upon some of the ideas above."
[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]
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