SwissMobile map of hiking trails in the area that I visited. Look at that network! The whole country is like this. Red trails are the mountain trails, yellow are the ‘Wanderwegs’, the walking paths, considered less strenuous, and blue marks the most challenging trails, the Alpine/mountaineering routes. Highlighted in green are the national and regional routes. The one marked with the number ‘1’ is the Via Alpina National hiking trail, one of seven that cross the country. Shown below is an overview of the seven Swiss national trails, with the Swiss routes of the ‘Way of St. James’ highlighted in red (route number 4). This network of trails is uniformly marked at every intersection with yellow signs, and blazed where needed along the routes. The marking is consistent and reliable throughout the entire nation. As I’ve said, this is truly a Hiker’s ‘Nirvana’. |
The stationary life at the Monastic Retreat at the Cloister has brought great rewards, but these roving feet have hiked long distance trails for a decade – 20,000 miles worth, and Europe exposed me to its astounding network of connected trails, many of which have been Pilgrimage routes for over a thousand years.
It begins to feel as if the Pilgrimage will become an integral part of my ongoing quest to reveal my personal path to ‘Salvation’, that is Peace of Mind, and Eternal Life, which a number of faith traditions insist can be experienced during one’s physical mortal lifetime. I am of that belief, and realize that I have often come close to this perfect state of being, most often when my feet are on the move, hiking through the glory of some natural setting.
Yes, a day hike can be a pilgrimage. There will be more emphasis on that. But at the same time I’ve gained a great deal of clarity of thought through connecting the teachings of the Judeo-Christian traditions with several more ancient ones, particularly the teachings of Lao-tzu.
Lao-tzu is said to have lived in China around 600 B.C., during the ‘Axial Age’ or the ‘Age of Transformation’—a time when civilizations world-wide were coming to a new awareness. It was the period when most of our great organized faiths were founded.
In the introduction to his 1988 translation of the Tao Te Ching, Stephen Mitchell writes of Lao-tzu:
“People usually think of Lao-tzu as a hermit, a dropout from society dwelling serenely in some mountain hut, unvisited except perhaps by the occasional pilgrim. But it’s clear that he deeply cared about society, if society means the welfare of one’s fellow human beings.
“Lao-tzu teaches that ‘The Master’ is one who masters Nature, not in the sense of conquering it, but of becoming one with it. We find deep in or own experience the central truths of the art of living, which are paradoxical only on the surface: that the more truly solitary we are, the more compassionate we can be.”
Well said. I believe these words reflect my experience over the past year and a half, since walking away from society and into the woods.
I now care more deeply about the society from which I sprang, about the direction it is going, and about how we can build a better future for our descendants. “I need a house” a voice once said to me; and one interpretation of that is to make our planet a safer ‘Haven’ and shelter for the coming generations. Many more thoughts on this to come. Stay tuned.
So … what comes next?
One of the options I am considering for my return to Europe, as mentioned in the video is a pilgrimage from my ancestral points of Origin, via the Way of St. James, to the Cathedral at Santiago de Compostela and then on another 70km to the ‘End of the Land’ at the Atlantic Coast of NW Spain.