What Does Pilgrimage Mean To You?

The Beginning and The End

What does Pilgrimage mean to you?

Does the idea feel heavy or light? Is it something you want to move towards or away from?

For some, pilgrimage has religious connotations and associations with long, arduous and perilous journeys.

For me, it’s lighter and more spacious than that. Pilgrimage is something that belongs to everyone. It’s a call to explore. An invitation to set off on a road in which our physical and spiritual paths may cross. A meeting of our heartlands and wild edges.

I started walking the Cotswold way with a new friend this Autumn. On the rare occasions our calendars align, we carve out whole days to wander and wonder together.

Looking through recent photos to include in this newsletter, my eyes flickered to the writing on the picture of the sign above - ‘The Beginning and The End’. I took this photo on the first day of our journey.

The more I reflect, the more I see how the act of pilgrimage is both beginning and end. A threshold place. A holding as we transition from one part of our lives to the next.

As autumn has crept into winter, and the days have grown increasingly grey and cold, these marks in my calendar have become beacons of warmth and light. I always return with my cup full to the brim, even if my legs are rather weary.

We have become pilgrims travelling together, each committed to see our journey through. The rituals we share include pausing for mugs of steaming tea at each bench that crosses our path, greeting every four legged friend that wags its tail in our direction, and pausing in our tracks to admire the deep wrinkles on elephant skinned beech trees.

Having felt deeply the healing properties of these shared walking days, I wanted to create an offering to include you too.