Personal Pilgrimage

Please choose a destination that would be considered sacred. It can be a monument (civic or religious), a cemetery, a house of worship, etc. If you choose a house of worship, I do not want you to “visit” the place where you regularly worship…or use this pilgrimage as part of your regular practice of prayer/worship. What I mean by that is if you usually attend your synagogue on Friday evenings, this visit is not a pilgrimage. You need to visit a place that would be considered outside your daily routine, outside of your comfort zone. Go somewhere you have never before been.

Spend some time mentally preparing yourself for the pilgrimage. What was going on in your head and in your life the day you embarked on this journey? When you began your journey were you annoyed by the assignment? What were your honest thoughts? Why? Think about how you will approach this site/space differently because you are a pilgrim and not a tourist. What makes a pilgrim different from a tourist? Jot down your observations and include them in your paper. While you are on this pilgrimage I would encourage you to “unplug” from your music, texting, and phone conversations. Allow yourself to be open to the sights, sounds and smells around you.

In your paper you should describe why you chose this particular place, the date and time of day you visited, where it is located and how you journeyed there. You are welcome to include photos of your pilgrimage. You must include at least one or two selfies of you at the pilgrimage destination that shows your face very clearly (unobstructed by hoodies, hats or sunglasses) with the destination in the photo as well.

At some point during your pilgrimage spend time focusing on observing other people there. Pay attention to distinctive ways of walking, patterns in the flow of passersby or pedestrian missteps. Are they engaged with the site or are they hurrying by it? Do they stop to reflect or just stop for a “selfie”? How do people walk? Lightly, with confidence, in a hurry, burdened? Intent, distracted, engaged, aloof, happily, heavily? With purpose? What might their gait or “mood” reflect? Include your observations in your paper.

Your reflection should include your overall experience, making note of the weather, terrain, your travel companions, and other people you observed or encountered. Did you walk to somewhere familiar or was this an entirely new section of the city you were exploring? If it was a new place, what did you observe? How did you feel? Did you feel safe? Welcomed? What was the terrain like? Geography? Did you know where you were going? Was this in an area you had walked before? Did you see anything new? If it was a familiar place, did you notice anything with new or fresh eyes and ears? What was your mental state, spiritual place, physical well being…before, during and after. If you went with others, what kind of conversations did you have? How was the time spent in silence? What did the silence evoke for you?

How did this pilgrimage journey differ from merely a walk or an ordinary visit as a tourist? What key factors made this a pilgrimage and not a sightseeing trip? Were you able to be a pilgrim immediately or did it take some time to become one? Explain your observations to this question. Share some of your experience while you were at this (sacred) space. This includes sharing what the place is, why it is significant historically, religiously and spiritually along with any other relevant information. Was your attitude different after the pilgrimage than it was when you began? In what ways?

In general, how did this pilgrimage relate to what we have been reading and discussing in class thus far this semester? Did it bring up any new questions or concerns? Did it affirm anything that you have learned? Did you learn anything new about yourself? Anyone you may have journeyed with? Did the pilgrimage spark a desire or interest to walk further with different or deeper purpose in quest of something more?

This paper should be approximately 5-6 pages long.

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