All the clichés about pilgrimage turned out to be true

Something makes pilgrimage different from ‘just’ walking. But then what? Lonneke researched this. She went in search of the meaning of secular pilgrimage and ended up with the Walk of Wisdom. The time has now come: her thesis is finished, approved, she has graduated with a 7.8 as a final assessment. In order to understand the pilgrimage, she finally went on a pilgrimage herself. Grateful to all the pilgrims who have walked the Walk of Wisdom – especially those she interviewed and whose story she was allowed to use – she set out. Below is her report and a look at her thesis.

In July 2020 the time had finally come: backpack on, walking shoes on, Pilgrim pinned, and the (then) leather strap for the bird rings. After a months-long pilgrimage that consisted of reading literature on secular pilgrimage, listening to stories of pilgrims of the Walk of Wisdom during interviews, and writing endlessly, I started my own Walk of Wisdom. My name is Lonneke, and for the past year Walk of Wisdom has been central to me, because I wrote my master’s thesis about it. Partly because it was part of my research, but even more because I felt the need to do so; Take a break, reflect on the past year, on themes that are at play, and go for a nice walk.

Meaning

About walking, many people say that it is meaningful, meaningful to them. From the literature I had read, I understood that pilgrimage can also lead to meaning. Meaning is a concept that I was bombarded with during my studies in Humanistic Studies, and it was therefore only logical to me that my master’s thesis would be about the possible meaningful meaning that pilgrimage can have. Meaning is my field of expertise, and yet it is often difficult to give a comprehensive definition of it. For my master’s thesis, I used the following definition of Alma and Smaling (2010):

Meaning is a personal relationship to the world in which one’s own life is placed in a broader framework of coherent meanings, in which purposefulness, value-fullness, connectedness and transcendence are experienced, together with competence and recognition, so that feelings of motivation and well-being are also experienced. (p.23)

All the elements mentioned here (purposefulness, value-fullness, connectedness, transcendence, competence, recognition) contribute to meaning. Many pilgrims I interviewed indicated that they had experienced value and connection the strongest. Now it was time for me to discover how much I experienced that sense of purpose during the pilgrimage. Reading and hearing about it is one thing, but experiencing it yourself can be very different. However, all the ‘clichés’ turned out to be true: I too felt intimately connected to nature when I walked through its beauty; I, too, was amazed at my own abilities; I also enjoyed the peace and quiet immensely; And I, too, was amazed at the deep connections I made along the way, both with pilgrims and non-pilgrims.

Rite of Passage

So there is something that makes pilgrimage different from ‘just’ walking, but then what? You may recognize it if you have already gone on a pilgrimage yourself, but the intention and the attention with which you walk seem to be different from a ‘normal walk’. It is the intention and that attention that make pilgrimage a ritual. One of the elements of a ritual is that the full attention is on the ritual or ritual act. Pilgrimage is seen by many authors as a rite of passage, a rite of passage. Rites of passage can include a marriage, in which you pass from the unmarried to the married state, or a birth, in which you are given the new role of mother. Rites of passage often involve social transitions, and are clearly noticeable.

For example, I spoke to a couple who walked Walk of Wisdom as a transition from working to retired life. I think that’s wonderful! I wanted to walk the Walk of Wisdom to mark the transition from student life to working life, but as is often the case in life, things didn’t go as planned and my thesis was far from finished at the time. Thus, the transitions of rites of passage can be social and clearly noticeable, but pilgrimage is above all about inner transitions, inner changes. They don’t have to be big. One comes back completely transformed from a pilgrimage and turns his whole life around, the other has gained an insight that helps them move forward. No matter how small your transformation may have been, pilgrimage does something to you.

My Own Pilgrimage

To take myself as an example: I went for a walk with a (life) question, probably just like many who have gone before me, and many who will follow me. My question was: how can I build more peace into my life? I like a lot of things, believe that I have to do and experience everything, and therefore regularly go beyond my own limits. Taking rest is very important to me, it allows me to recharge myself. Not surprisingly, I often forget that peace in my attempt to experience all the fun in the world. Also during the pilgrimage I noticed that I didn’t take much of a break, and mainly walked a lot. I really enjoyed the walking and the nature around me, but I kept up the pace. There were also days when I wouldn’t run many kilometers, so I feared what I would do with my time. By taking more frequent breaks, grounding, taking in nature, I became calmer, and I noticed that during the days there was more peace in me (that, and the fact that I didn’t use a mobile phone and so had to entertain myself, instead of being entertained). That led to the intention to start with time for myself in the morning from now on, and that has worked out pretty well so far. A small transformation, but one with a lot of effect.

A link to my thesis

I could probably write pages more. About my own journey, but also about secular pilgrimage, meaning, rituals, life questions… Fortunately, I’ve already written an entire thesis on the subject. You can download it via the link below. So if you want to delve into secular pilgrimage and everything that comes with it, take a look ;).

Lonneke