The Way of the Pilgrim
Click here to watch this one hour webinar
Thirst
by Mary Oliver
Another morning and I wake with thirst
for the goodness I do not have. I walk
out to the pond and all the way God has
given us such beautiful lessons. Oh Lord,
I was never a quick scholar but sulked
and hunched over my books past the hour
and the bell; grant me, in your mercy,
a little more time. Love for the earth
and love for you are having such a long
conversation in my heart. Who knows what
will finally happen or where I will be sent,
yet already I have given a great many things
away, expecting to be told to pack nothing,
except the prayers which, with this thirst,
I am slowly learning.
Throughout history , when the desire for personal and collective transformation has arisen, seekers throughout the world have gone on pilgrimage: an arduous and often even dangerous journey to follow in the footsteps of previous generations to re-connect to ancient ancestral stories and land.s In this one hour webinar, we will trace the historical roots and archetype of the Pilgrim. Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Paolo Coelho's The Alchemist and the 19th century Russian masterpiece The Way of the Pilgrim all speak to the archetypal longing to find a life of deeper meaning and purpose, and all imply that the true journey of transformation is the one that takes us within to our own depths.
Through photography, poetry and story, we will trace the history of pilgrimage from Jerusalem to Santiago Compostela in Spain and journey along the ancient Medieval paths of France, including Chartres Cathedral .
We will discover the rich lessons pilgrimage offers, and learn how encountering otherness, the practice of letting go, and cultivating silence and deep attention are the stepping stones that can lead to inner awakening--
wherever we may be in the world.
