Pilgrimage.
A few days ago, I would have been enjoying the sun shining, if it had not been a certain day and if it had not been a final farewell that I was involved in. As I stood there emotions about to overwhelm it struck me that at that time in the afternoon I would have been out in the garden, out in the open, out and anywhere but where I was, doing what I was about to do. This for me was not just any day, I was saying goodbye forever to my loved one. After the ceremony was complete my thoughts shocked me as instead of the grief which had filled me for days and hours my first thought returned me to my school days. It may have been the ceremony which had acted like a link or triggered the memory but religion filled my thoughts and one of the subjects I did well in at school was religious study. I have always been interested in the idea of an ultimate belief.
My thoughts on religion did interweave with memories of my loved one. One of the stories my relative told me of was about a group of worshippers who had an ultimate goal and that was to go on a holy pilgrimage. This pilgrimage was something important, something sacred and it would be an example of how significantly one viewed the teachings of their religion. The worshippers saved
all their money as it was a difficult, long way to go. They saved all they could and having made the decision set about on their pilgrimage. As their journey was an incredibly long one they had to stop one night to rest. Tired they all fell into a needed sleep, it was not but a while before they were interrupted by a noise. The sound of scrabbling came from nearby and so one of the men went to investigate. On inspecting the area he saw a lady bending over the rubbish which had been left behind from their evening meal. He went over to her and asked what she was doing. The woman explained that her husband had died, that she was alone with young children and she had no money to feed them. It was clear that the woman knew the area well from routinely having to sort through the rubbish for scraps of food for her children. The man knew in his heart that even though he had only enough money gathered for his pilgrimage that he would have to intervene. By giving his money the man would have to stop his own journey, it would mean all the months of saving would be gone and all his hope of his wish being granted would leave him. The man looked at the woman and even though he had waited for this opportunity to go on his pilgrimage, put all his effort into it, due to the situation he knew that instead of his plan for a pilgrimage he would have to help the woman. The next morning the rest of the worshippers were about to leave when they noticed that their friend was not going with them and they asked him what was wrong. The man told his friends about the incident of the previous night and said he would forgo his trip as he gave his money to the woman to feed her children. The worshippers were aghast in horror and they all told him what a fool he had been, after saving for so long he had given up on this one occasion to go on the pilgrimage, it was a once in a lifetime, a pilgrimage many would never be able to go on. No matter what his friends said the man was adamant that he had done the only thing he could and said he would wait for the return of his fellow pilgrims. Days went by and when the pilgrims returned far from happy, one of them angrily approached their friend. “What game are you playing?” He spat. “You said you would wait here for our return. When we got to the shrine you were always in front of us, we could see you and even when the crowds were so vast that we could practically not move forward still you were there at the front, it was always you ahead of us and you were the one who made it through the crowds, you were the one who had his wish accepted.”
The man could not understand what his friends were telling him as he had not moved from where he had said he would wait and he had certainly not been able to go on his pilgrimage. A thought came to him and he asked. “What makes you think I had my wish accepted?”
Still incredibly angry as they had not believed him the worshippers looked at him and went on to say. “Of course your wish was accepted, you were the one bathed in a golden light.”
I think this story highlights the idea that it is not what you say your belief is that is important but how your actions determine that belief. It is by what you do that it will evidence if you are a good or bad person. I could not help but think of this as I said my final physical farewell to a loved lady, to a knowledgable soul and to a spirit who always knew how to guide us in our lives. The lady who lived life with love, she taught me that life is limited and I should make use of the opportunity to share my feelings and power in a positive way with others.
My thoughts on religion did interweave with memories of my loved one. One of the stories my relative told me of was about a group of worshippers who had an ultimate goal and that was to go on a holy pilgrimage. This pilgrimage was something important, something sacred and it would be an example of how significantly one viewed the teachings of their religion. The worshippers saved
all their money as it was a difficult, long way to go. They saved all they could and having made the decision set about on their pilgrimage. As their journey was an incredibly long one they had to stop one night to rest. Tired they all fell into a needed sleep, it was not but a while before they were interrupted by a noise. The sound of scrabbling came from nearby and so one of the men went to investigate. On inspecting the area he saw a lady bending over the rubbish which had been left behind from their evening meal. He went over to her and asked what she was doing. The woman explained that her husband had died, that she was alone with young children and she had no money to feed them. It was clear that the woman knew the area well from routinely having to sort through the rubbish for scraps of food for her children. The man knew in his heart that even though he had only enough money gathered for his pilgrimage that he would have to intervene. By giving his money the man would have to stop his own journey, it would mean all the months of saving would be gone and all his hope of his wish being granted would leave him. The man looked at the woman and even though he had waited for this opportunity to go on his pilgrimage, put all his effort into it, due to the situation he knew that instead of his plan for a pilgrimage he would have to help the woman. The next morning the rest of the worshippers were about to leave when they noticed that their friend was not going with them and they asked him what was wrong. The man told his friends about the incident of the previous night and said he would forgo his trip as he gave his money to the woman to feed her children. The worshippers were aghast in horror and they all told him what a fool he had been, after saving for so long he had given up on this one occasion to go on the pilgrimage, it was a once in a lifetime, a pilgrimage many would never be able to go on. No matter what his friends said the man was adamant that he had done the only thing he could and said he would wait for the return of his fellow pilgrims. Days went by and when the pilgrims returned far from happy, one of them angrily approached their friend. “What game are you playing?” He spat. “You said you would wait here for our return. When we got to the shrine you were always in front of us, we could see you and even when the crowds were so vast that we could practically not move forward still you were there at the front, it was always you ahead of us and you were the one who made it through the crowds, you were the one who had his wish accepted.”
The man could not understand what his friends were telling him as he had not moved from where he had said he would wait and he had certainly not been able to go on his pilgrimage. A thought came to him and he asked. “What makes you think I had my wish accepted?”
Still incredibly angry as they had not believed him the worshippers looked at him and went on to say. “Of course your wish was accepted, you were the one bathed in a golden light.”
I think this story highlights the idea that it is not what you say your belief is that is important but how your actions determine that belief. It is by what you do that it will evidence if you are a good or bad person. I could not help but think of this as I said my final physical farewell to a loved lady, to a knowledgable soul and to a spirit who always knew how to guide us in our lives. The lady who lived life with love, she taught me that life is limited and I should make use of the opportunity to share my feelings and power in a positive way with others.
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