PILGRIMAGE

PILGRIMAGE

This word has cropped up a number of times in the past month.   It is not a word that is in our modern-day vocabulary much so I took note of it. 

Ironically, I have a band named Pilgrim.   It is an exploration of music with very interesting original arrangements.  I play fretless and fretted bass In the group -it is more often than not, the lead instrument- which is not a usual voicing for any genre.  It is one of a number of musical groups I have worked on, each with it’s own unique creative voice- Part of my pilgrimage of musical expression.

I have been on a spiritual pilgrimage which has taken me through years of ministry  and serving to what I consider a more honest and authentic expression of my faith.

Our efforts into homeschooling have definitely been a pilgrimage and it is nearing it’s end as our second son enters his final years of school.  When we began our journey in educating, people looked at us like we had grown a third eye out of our forehead.  Now it is considered more mainstream, though still unconventional.  We truly entered uncharted territory in this effort.

I have been on a pilgrimage to regain health and physical fitness since 2009 when I discovered I had type II diabetes.  It has included swimming, biking, lifting weights and walk/runs.

Last year I read Rolf Pott’s book, “Vagabonding”, and it has awakened in my life a desire to experience the world and to travel.  We saw the film, “The Way” and it further has enflamed our wanderlust for a pilgrimage to discover, work, serve and live out of a backpack for long periods of time.  We became members of Chris Guillebeau’s Travel Cartel and are learning the skills of travel hacking – our first planned destinations are New Zeeland and Costa Rica. 

Recently I began a pilgrimage to start my own business as a writer.  I started a blog called More Than Words and I am in the final stages of editing several books, which I plan to self-publish and release as e-books.  My goal is to become self-employed in the near future and that is a peculiar journey as anyone who has done this before knows.   I am also developing several other businesses and income streams which will allow us to be free to move about.

I have created a Life List (you might call it a Bucket List) with a multitude of rich and exciting goals to achieve.  From visiting places around the world to learning and experiencing accomplishments that you might find outlandish.  I have broken the list into one, five and ten year goals but I am also open to doors opening unexpectantly.

For me a pilgrimage is an adventure of trust and a stretching of both personal abilities and faith.  It is an encounter with the unexpected, an opportunity full of opportunities.  Sometimes it is as simple as throwing together a knapsack and jumping over the back fence and other times it is involved as coordinating dates for a round the world air ticket.  I am ready to simplify my life, reduce my possessions, and spend some time with my wife on a pilgrimage.