What Does It Mean to Walk as a Pilgrim?
What Does It Mean to Walk as a Pilgrim?
by Lauren Rendle, President, Canadian Company of Pilgrims | Calgary, Alberta, Canada
“To walk as a pilgrim means to journey mindfully, aware of our connection with the landscape, with our fellow pilgrims, and with the countless others whose footsteps we follow and who will follow behind us.
It means leaving the people and places we visit better than we found them.
It means being open to new experiences and ideas that will enrich our pilgrim journey.
It means walking with kindness, respect, openness, and curiosity.”
Recent concern that some of the foundational pilgrimage traditions were being lost had many international Camino de Santiago associations searching for ways to preserve the essence of this pilgrimage journey. The Canadian Company of Pilgrims chose the above statement to begin this important discussion with its members.
We ask the thought-provoking question “What does it mean to walk as a Pilgrim?” to introduce a new Mindful Pilgrim section on our website home page. We now include a Mindful Pilgrim message card with each Credencial ordered online, and also make these cards available for our chapters to share at their events. Additionally, we have developed a Mindful Pilgrim slide show that our organization and chapters can use to facilitate discussion. We also recently made these resources available to American Pilgrims on the Camino chapters.
The Mindful Pilgrim themes of kindness, respect, openness, and curiosity have resonated with our Canadian Company of Pilgrims members and engaged them in valuable discussion. We invite you, our neighbors at American Pilgrims on the Camino, to consider these themes yourself and in dialogue with fellow pilgrims. May we all journey as mindful pilgrims.
