Sacred Pilgrimage Part 3
April 16, 2026
Sacred Pilgrimage Part 3
You can walk the same road a hundred times and never have the same journey twice. Presence is a pilgrimage all of its own.
Our senses tell a different story with every pilgrimage we take, even when the route and destination are the same. The first visit is unforgettable because initial impressions leave a lasting mark. Everything feels new. Everything seems vivid.
Yet if we are truly attentive… if we are present, the second, third, and even the tenth pilgrimage to that same place reveals something entirely new. How can this be? Because presence allows us to enter the ever-unfolding story of the moment and each is always different from all other moments.
The moments that create our lives are not static. Each moment carries something very alive that has never existed before and will never appear in quite the same way again. When we are present, we notice the subtle arrivals of each of these. We see the small details, the quiet movements, the fleeting insights that appear only for that instant before the next moment unfolds. We experience our breath in a much deeper way, and when we have a feeling, we delve into it with the curiosity to understand more about it.
Without presence, we miss these gifts. Henry David Thoreau wrote in his Journal April 24, 1859:
“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.”
But instead of living in the present, the mind often drifts into the past or anticipations of the future. It can go down a million rabbit holes of distraction. And even when our attention rests on the present moment, if we lack presence, we quickly judge it, deciding whether it is good or bad, rather than experiencing it for what it truly is and learning from it.
A couple of days ago at the gasoline pump, I could not open the cover to my car’s gas tank. Regardless of my maneuvers, it did not budge. Having already put my card in the pump and having made my gas selection, I was not about to give up. But the cover did not budge. The frustration reached a peak. Then I stopped, realized the state I had gotten into and became present. I gave up on the battle with the tank and just became one with the moment. I was blessed that the present moment revealed what needed to be done to unlock the lid.
Presence is like a candle. When a candle enters a dark room, it illuminates what was always there but could not be seen. Corners emerge from the shadows. Shapes become clear. What was hidden is gently revealed. So it is with presence.
When we bring full awareness to the moment, our experience begins to speak on many levels. It speaks through other people, through the sensations in our body, through our emotions and thoughts. But most of all, presence is how the soul perceives and moves through the world. The more presence we cultivate, the more it is as though the soul itself is holding a candle to everything we encounter. And suddenly, what once seemed ordinary begins to shine.
Spiritual practice: Become present right now. Pause for a moment and notice. What do you see that you did not see before? What do you hear? What is your soul’s felt experience of this moment?
Self-inquiry: How can presence be a pilgrimage?
Prayer:
Dear God, In this present moment, I hear your voice. Where will it take me? Amen.
