Before there was tourism…

“Before there was tourism, there was pilgrimage.”

That is the first line of an article recently published in the New York Times titled “An Epic Pilgrimage Across Three Religions.” Quite honestly, I still haven’t read the article as I continue to focus on setting myself up in a new location, finding a new routine, making new connections, and settling into some familiar and new work.

Following German pilgrim friends on Camino, 2023

But this single line immediately captured me. My body recognized it as one of the deep assumptions permeating my unfolding work and growing sense of mission. I don’t quite have the words for it yet, but this line seemed to capture my growing awareness of the limits of first world lifestyles (of which I am part). I keep meeting people (and I am one of them) who seem to be on a path of seeking experiences that provide deeper meaning than much of our conventional first world lifestyles offer.

I remember when I first proposed this growing focus on pilgrimages. There was a reaction from people whom I deeply respect and trust who were concerned that I was only reinforcing the inequities of the haves and the have nots. “Pilgrimages are great,” they seemed to be saying, “but only those who can afford to be tourists will be able to afford the time and expense of a pilgrimage.”

But, I know very clearly this is not a reinforcement of the first world status quo. This is a not-so-subtle rejection of first world privilege.

Pilgrimage is not just another luxurious option for those who have disposable income for vacations in exotic places and “all you can eat” cruises. This is a cultural shift. This is an admission that our first world lifestyles have gotten something very wrong. This is a growing revelation that cultures who have honored walkabouts, vision/wilderness quests and pilgrimages knew something about the human spirit, a deep knowledge that we have ignored at our own and at the world’s peril.

This is a growing “aha” that Forrest Gump was in tune with something deeper when he just started running and kept running.

I am convinced that our culture is largely blind to this, blind to the wisdom of a Forrest Gump, blind to Indigenous ways of life, blind to the disciplines and rhythms of the soul.

We want to know, “What is the purpose?” “What are you hoping to accomplish?” “What about your responsibilities?” “What is your plan?” But pilgrimages, walkabouts and vision/wilderness quests aren’t about accomplishing something; they are about deep discovery.

We get tourism. If you work hard enough you deserve to have a luxury vacation. But, a pilgrimage, a wilderness quest, a walkabout? We see those things only as rewards for putting in our time. We do not see what other cultures see—that a pilgrimage, a wilderness quest and a walkabout are vital experiences for those on a journey of spiritual transformation and psychological development.

Before there was tourism, there was pilgrimage.

Before first world lifestyles there was a way of life more in tune with our bodies, our souls and with the sacred Earth.

Brian Heron

Cultural Innovator and Spiritual Pilgrim