E. Pluibus Pilgrimage

Thomas Hardy, King Arthur, Jesus, Jane Austin, the Eden Project, Doc Martin, Stonehenge, The Magna Carta, Salisbury Cathedral, Roman Baths, Buck Fast Abbey, cities, towns and the sea, apart from all of these things being in England, they all are related to pilgrims, believers, scholars, fans, and curious tourists who pour in from cities, suburbs. In our case we came from out of the country to take in the sites, museums and sacred locations.  

From vastly different places people come with common goals to see, experience, listen, read, learn and ultimately to share in conversations, classrooms or on social media (like this).  People make pilgrimage of sorts to gain first hand experience of uniqueness, of beauty, wonder, nature, and to muse at the ingenuity and creativity of human beings. These things make life quite interesting. For me, it's especially interesting to consider the journey, the experience and the reflection of those who traveled to locations like those mentioned above in ritualistic fashion. I think about what they hope to find and how it impacts their lives. To some degree the what is religious in nature, yet has become deeply entwined in pop culture.

I firmly believe you don't have to travel to exotic part for the world for pilgrimage.  People can attend an event; engage in an activity or outing just for a few hours. You may be alone in the moment, but the notion of pilgrimage is communal in nature, E. Pluibus Unum, out of many, one. I plan to start a life changing one right here at home next month. More to follow.

Engage in ritual. Run.

Tom