So far we have talked about pilgrimage and growth in very intentional terms-intentional in the sense that the pilgrimage begins with a felt need, a sense of inadequacy, a need for purpose and meaning, a desire to grow beyond the present limitations of vision or faith, or the need to understand what cannot be explained with current vocabulary or information. A person reaches a point and says, "I cannot continue like this; I will not take it any longer; I need to know, to understand, to change." This kind of pilgrimage is intentional-you do not know where it will end, but you do know when it begins and that you are serious about it.
On the other hand, someone has said that from the minute you are conceived, you begin to grow-and begin to die. In one very important sense, life is a pilgrimage and we are pilgrims-whether we like it that way or not. Whatever else happens to you, no matter how hard you may work at keeping change limited and under control, you cannot avoid it. Two famous pre-Socratic philosophers argued about the nature of change. They both agreed that change is the most basic factor of human existence. They both thought it was the basic truth about the universe-everything changes. [ The End ]