The experienced traveler is an efficient pilgrim, the devout disciple of personal economy. His enlightened philosophy is to pack only what is necessary to reduce significant anxiety.
Yet through inexperience and former habits of wanton luxury, every traveler is at first possessed with numerous anxieties and fears. He concerns himself with the most implausible contingencies and wants, for which he accounts by carrying a super-abundance of supplies to meet every possible situation.
In time the pilgrim discovers the likeliest threat to his progress is neither storm nor foe, but grinding fatigue, and therefore faces the choice: either to abandon frivolous items or abandon his pilgrimage altogether. To jettison baggage requires him to accept what consequences might come from having less. For instance, emancipating himself from the weight of a second jacket requires accepting a cold road, should misfortune then ruin his remaining coat. In abandoning excess, the pilgrim abandons himself to the providence of God. Yet in doing so he is loosed to move faster and more freely towards his goal.
The traveler's paradox is that, the less he carries, the better he is able to progress, for the essence of pure travel is efficiency. To be efficient is to be minimalistic in wants, resourceful for needs, and to resign to God that which is beyond personal control. Proficient pilgrims learn to meet the widest variety of circumstances with the barest supplies, and let divine reliance quell their fear of unknowables.
The luxury of a pilgrim is spartan luxury. It is the joy of progressing with as few distractions as possible so one might meditate on the path and its relation to the end. Thus, the art of travel is to overcome needless anxiety by developing resourcefulness and faith, for in doing so we approach the ability to carry nothing but our wits and our hopes. This is true economy.
Yet through inexperience and former habits of wanton luxury, every traveler is at first possessed with numerous anxieties and fears. He concerns himself with the most implausible contingencies and wants, for which he accounts by carrying a super-abundance of supplies to meet every possible situation.
In time the pilgrim discovers the likeliest threat to his progress is neither storm nor foe, but grinding fatigue, and therefore faces the choice: either to abandon frivolous items or abandon his pilgrimage altogether. To jettison baggage requires him to accept what consequences might come from having less. For instance, emancipating himself from the weight of a second jacket requires accepting a cold road, should misfortune then ruin his remaining coat. In abandoning excess, the pilgrim abandons himself to the providence of God. Yet in doing so he is loosed to move faster and more freely towards his goal.
The traveler's paradox is that, the less he carries, the better he is able to progress, for the essence of pure travel is efficiency. To be efficient is to be minimalistic in wants, resourceful for needs, and to resign to God that which is beyond personal control. Proficient pilgrims learn to meet the widest variety of circumstances with the barest supplies, and let divine reliance quell their fear of unknowables.
The luxury of a pilgrim is spartan luxury. It is the joy of progressing with as few distractions as possible so one might meditate on the path and its relation to the end. Thus, the art of travel is to overcome needless anxiety by developing resourcefulness and faith, for in doing so we approach the ability to carry nothing but our wits and our hopes. This is true economy.
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© Michael Spotts:. 2011
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You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this article in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and that you do not charge any fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For printed copies, as well as web posting, please include the following statement:
By M. Benjamin Spotts:.
Copyright © The Open Life
www.theopenlife.com
Titus 3:3-8
© Michael Spotts:. 2011
———————
You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this article in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and that you do not charge any fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For printed copies, as well as web posting, please include the following statement:
By M. Benjamin Spotts:.
Copyright © The Open Life
www.theopenlife.com
Titus 3:3-8
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