Makenna Sowards—Class Reading 1, Pilgrimage as self Discovery in an Ecological Community

 The idea of a pilgrimage that units a community through the wonder of the ecological world is something that was previously foreign to me. I knew about how taking long hikes caused a lot of introspective consideration and forced perspective, but I never considered how certain types of long hikes may be considered a pilgrimage. The shared experience of grueling days of exercise and the epiphanies that emerge as a result of being faced with purposeful adversity being shared with an interested group fostering a connection is amazing. It is also interesting how people with different religious ideologies can experience the same part of the world, the sam physical journey, but recognize their spiritual experiences as different arrivals to a similar theme. Overall, this shows the unanimous 'awe' that nature generates in appreciative people, and the mysticism of the intricate workings of the environment around us. Being able to connect through that respect of the environment, even though it may be viewed through different lenses, is proof of the uniting force of an ecological community.

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