Wednesday, August 30
This is where the totals--walking, biking, ox cart--should be but I don't want to add them up. They would belie what I'm about to write.
After much processing, I've finally arrived at this conclusion: I was not on a pilgrimage. Not by my definition anyway. The Trail was an homage, a celebration, a memorial event.
After much processing, I've finally arrived at this conclusion: I was not on a pilgrimage. Not by my definition anyway. The Trail was an homage, a celebration, a memorial event.
This is an important distinction for me. When I was able to acknowledge that the Producers of the Trail had such a concept in mind, a unique and magnificent event, I was able to be grateful and feel privileged to have participated. More significant for me was how it helped me define success in my performance.
Jim and I discussed this at length. He kept paralleling our journey to that of Father Sorin and the six brothers who set out with him for South Bend. He impressed upon me that, in walking in their footsteps, we were not traveling as solitary pilgrims moving in the same direction. We were recreating the team work and pooling of talents and resources that led to the whole group arriving safely and beginning their mission.
In this context, success was that we did all arrive safely--by foot, bike, or ox cart--to mark the University's anniversary and celebrate what it had become. My personal success was not in terms of what distance I covered under my own power, or that my feet were free of blisters, or any other measurement. Success was simply participation. I was part of a group that committed to bringing the Trail to life, to being faces of the University along the way. I succeeded by showing up each day, giving myself to the Trail, every part of it: physical, spiritual, social.
Today I was able to say honestly that I was honored to have been part of an experience that was so much bigger than I'd ever anticipated.
Jim and I discussed this at length. He kept paralleling our journey to that of Father Sorin and the six brothers who set out with him for South Bend. He impressed upon me that, in walking in their footsteps, we were not traveling as solitary pilgrims moving in the same direction. We were recreating the team work and pooling of talents and resources that led to the whole group arriving safely and beginning their mission.
In this context, success was that we did all arrive safely--by foot, bike, or ox cart--to mark the University's anniversary and celebrate what it had become. My personal success was not in terms of what distance I covered under my own power, or that my feet were free of blisters, or any other measurement. Success was simply participation. I was part of a group that committed to bringing the Trail to life, to being faces of the University along the way. I succeeded by showing up each day, giving myself to the Trail, every part of it: physical, spiritual, social.
Today I was able to say honestly that I was honored to have been part of an experience that was so much bigger than I'd ever anticipated.
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| Pilgrim passports. |
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| Trail boots retired with Camino boots. |
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