Malcolm Buckley's Blog - Posts Tagged "pilgrimage"

In my book The Viking Way ‘A Walk for Denver’ I refer to my journey of 170 miles over 12 consecutive days as a Pilgrimage, due to the fact that it was as much an inner journey through my unresolved grief for Denver as it was an outer transient experience of the path itself.

A Pilgrimage is defined by The National Trust as, ‘ a journey or search of moral or spiritual significance, typically to a shrine or location of importance in a person’s beliefs or faith’. A devotional practice consisting of a long and meaningful journey, often undertaken on foot.

I removed myself from my home environment and life conditions for two weeks, and stepped out of the non-stop demands and ‘busy-ness’ of normal life. I Immersed myself into a natural environment, and into a state of ‘being’ rather than ‘doing’.

Walking a long distance path over multi-days keeps you in the present moment at all times, where the opportunity to feel more in tune with self brings a high degree of awareness, empathy, love and compassion for everyone and everything.

I experienced a lifetime of emotions during my 12 days of The Viking Way, due to both the outer conditions around me, and the powerful inner release of prolonged mental stress and emotional grief.

There are generally three stages of personal growth when engaged on a long distance multi-day walk, I will look at those complex stages and the inner transformations they create in my next blog.

Walking every day for weeks or months with nothing more to achieve, brings a level of simplicity to life, The only focus is to get from point A to point B at the end of the day safely, finding food, water and shelter are all the outer conditions life on the path asks of you.

The natural world is a healer, just being in nature, nurtures and empowers a lost soul. My Viking Way walk elevated me high enough from the abyss to the point I could re- stabilize myself , steady every aspect of my being that had been thrown out of balance. It enabled me to find my footing and build on that platform of strength to reach a point of safety emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Prolonged emotional and/or mental stress inevitably becomes physical, bringing potential illness as the immune system weakens. Self-awareness is important here, self-acceptance is crucial. Both are required before action can be taken to prevent a full physical, mental and emotional shutdown.

That’s why going for a walk is a wonderful, healing action to take if the body is under stress and strain.

The path teaches and provides, it allows us to slow down, to heal and to resonate with the rhythm of nature. To illuminate our true journey through life, enabling us to see what really matters, and can gift us a greater sense of our life’s purpose.

A pilgrimage can, and most likely will provide a spiritual revelation, a life changing epiphany without any initiation or demand from self, the natural world and the path itself, always provides what is needed.

Having lived on Lincolnshire’s East Coast for nearly forty years, the ‘bracing’ winds and cool air are a far cry from my hometown of Croydon in Surrey, where I grew up and lived till I was 21 years of age.

Being choked by the smog and the smoke, when the opportunity presented itself to move to Lincolnshire, my girlfriend and I did not hesitate to make the move. I secured a job in Skegness, we both gave up jobs in Croydon, my girlfriend became my wife and we left Croydon without truly looking back, all within 6 weeks!

We had 3 boys in 5 years, and today our sons are husbands and fathers in their own right, and the current ‘tally’ of beautiful grandchildren stands at 5.

Aside from being on the coast, with the beach and walks along the sea-front, an area inland became a favorite place of mine to walk. It allowed me to recharge, rebalance and realign at every level.

The Lincolnshire Wolds were designated an ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (ANOB) in 1973, and are the highest area of land between Yorkshire and Kent. The highest point of Lincolnshire is located just North of Normanby le Wold at approximately 551 feet (168 metres) above sea level.

Anyone that tells you Lincolnshire is flat, has clearly never visited.

I walked for hours whenever I could in the magnificence of The Wolds, and I feel they became a part of me.

In 2008, at the age of 48 I decided it would be wonderful to have a four legged companion with me to walk these hills and valleys.

Enter a gorgeous Chocolate Labrador, I named ‘Denver’ after my favorite singer John Denver.

In essence this blog is a tribute, a testimony to the 9 years and 48 weeks we shared together, until Denver passed on June 3rd 2018.

My book The Viking Way ‘A Walk for Denver’ incorporates my love of walking, along with the devastating grief I felt in the wake of losing Denver.

My 170 mile pilgrimage along The Viking Way, with Denver’s collar in my backpack was intended to help me ‘come to terms’ with his loss, the grief of which was actually threatening my life. I nearly exited this life 3 times, by choice, in the nine months following Denver’s passing, spiraling into a deep, depressive darkness.

This website, this blog and my book, form a part of Denver’s legacy, I feel that the world needs to know of the light that shone from this beautiful, gentle soul, that such a loving being walked among us for so brief a time.

My wish is to share all that Denver taught me, about myself and life in general, the joys and the sorrows and how to deal with life challenges as they arise.

I hope that you will share your own experience with a special dog that touched your life, the memories and reflections presented to you on your own journey.



Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened – Dr Seuss