Years ago a question was posed to me as to whether an outward Pilgrimage must be to a far away place.  At the time younger, more idealistic, and enamored with the classic Pilgrim Routes, I was inclined to say, “Yes”, but even then I knew that such things are not so black and white.    

The greying shades of definitive boundaries include Pilgrimages both outer and inner, both far and near.  As the daily routines of life march on, we walk the Path. Regardless if the path be known, the process of taking each step on the Journey as it comes is what moves us along. Some practice stepping intentionally, some try to force a direction, others perhaps close their eyes to the choices in the road; in any case we are still on the Way as the map of our lives unfold.    

There are identified pilgrim routes, traditionally trodden and laden with the lingering spirit of those who have walked those same roads for centuries.  There are also the intangible and no less conventional paths of inner tradition, handed down through generations, informing the manners in which we walk.   

The Path may be Place, named or known,

The Path may be Feeling, discovered or sown

We each walk distinctly, not truly alone

For each road uniquely, our Journey we own