In this season, many of us are packing up the SUV for a trip to the beach or the mountains. Children go to summer camp. Retirees spend their kids’ inheritance on travels to far off regions. Why do we feel the need to travel and how can it impact our spiritual life?
Philosopher Alan Wilson Watts, one of the first to interpret Eastern wisdom for a Western audience, stated: “The soul is something that contains the body. The body doesn’t contain the soul.”
This notion is a reversal in thinking for most of us. Think of the soul as something that needs to be cared for just like the body. While we are off doing earthly things, the soul grows weak, lonely and depressed. Fortunately, travel is an excellent way to nourish the soul.
We know that Jesus was constantly traveling — by foot and in sandals. He was always working to spread the Word. He traveled with his disciples or alone or in crowds. Paul traveled around 30,000 miles across the Roman Empire.
Within a century of the arrival of missionaries from Rome to convert the pagan Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon pilgrimages to Rome already were established. Today, more and more of us are embarking on Christian pilgrimages such as the Camino de Santiago in Spain honoring St. James, and the Via Francigena in France honoring St. Francis.
This year, my husband and I hiked Croagh Patrick in Westport, Ireland. St. Patrick is believed to have fasted there for 40 days in 441. The tradition of hiking Croagh Patrick started 1,500 years ago. Though we didn’t complete the four-hour hike, we encountered many who scaled the loose gravel and shale to reach the top, including one man who completed it barefoot.
Pilgrimages aren’t unique to Christians. The Hajj, the Islamic pilgrimage, is an annual pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are financially and physically capable.
Hindus are not required to do pilgrimages, however most do. They go to Puri, Remeswaram, Dwark, and Badrinath.
The Hebrew Bible instructs all Jews to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem three times a year; in spring for Passover, in summer for Shavuot and in the fall for Sukkot. Christian pilgrims began coming to Jerusalem and the Holy Land within centuries of Jesus’ death.
Not all of us can venture off to take a major pilgrimage. I have good news. A pilgrimage is defined as a journey to a sacred place. In this Earth God created, every place can be sacred if you make it so. A family vacation or a day trip to Enchanted Rock can be a pilgrimage also.
Many of us travel to thin places all the time without realizing we have arrived in a sacred place. A thin place is a location where the membrane between this world and the eternal world is thin — a place where we can walk in two worlds. Our soul thrives in such places. The Celts believed you could find thin places at sunset and sunrise, on mountaintops, at shorelines and lakes and rivers, in caves and wells. Cemeteries and ancient ruins are also thin places. Through travel we can discover thin places all over the world and nourish our thirsty soul.
Traveling to thin places renews the soul in many ways:
Travel offers our soul access to the beauty of creation. In Texas, many of us travel north to the splendor of the Rocky Mountains, or south to the Gulf. Either way, the beauty of God’s great Earth provides an opportunity to strengthen the soul with the splendor of the Earth. “This is the Lord’s doing and marvelous in our eyes.” — Psalm 118: 23-24
Travel provides our soul new and unique experiences. A journey introduces us to different cultures and places. With each new culture, we learn how others live, work and play. The “foreigner” becomes a friend. God calls us to love one another. Seeing that we are part of a world with all types of people reminds us we are all one. “From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole Earth.” — Acts 17:26
Travel affords our soul an opportunity to connect and socialize with ancient souls. Travel to cathedrals in Europe, ruins in Peru and Mexico, the Holy Land, or the family cemetery reminds us that our bodies will not last forever. Our soul connects us to all those who have lived before us. “Ask the former generation and find out what their ancestors learned, for we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on Earth are but a shadow. Will they not instruct you and tell you? Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?” — Job 8:8-10
Travel nourishes the soul with rest. Taking time away from the temporal demands of life brings much needed repose for the soul. In Psalm 23, we are provided a guide book for rest and relaxation. “He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul.”
Whether we visit the mountains, a different country, a cemetery, or simply rest in silence at sunset, travel provides opportunities to restore our souls. This season, whatever your journey, while feeding your body, remember to feed your soul.
Diane Owens Prettyman is a parishioner at All Saints Episcopal Church, where she is a member of their Central Texas Interfaith Core Team. Diane’s numerous publications include the novel “Thin Places.” To contribute a faith column, email, nvillalpando@statesman.com