pilgrimage

"A pilgrimage is a journey or search of moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith, although sometimes it can be a metaphorical journey in to someone's own beliefs."

I arrived in Allahabad last night at 9:30p, Monday, after a twelve plus hour bus ride from Agra. We have essentially been in transit since departing Michigan on Friday. We arrived in the dark, and awoke to a dark, damp, drippy fog kind of morning. It's interesting to arrive in this way and not quite know what you're arriving to. It's become apparent through all of my travel so far, that it will be a slow unveiling.

The campus alarm chimes at 5:30a, to tell us it's time for chai (they bribe us out of our cots with chai, it works like a charm). Prayers and meditation follow at 6:00a in the Sacred Grove. It's winter in India, and we awoke to damp 40's this morning. Wearing long johns, wool, sweatshirt, down jacket, wool shawl, and hat I make my way to the grove. Sitting on the ground under the trees, glove wedged under my ankle for cush, rain drops on my head I practice arriving. I invite my body to arrive, my breath to arrive, my awareness to arrive.

I've traveled all this way for this. Using the outer journey to facilitate the inner journey. Arriving in this new unknown physical location to inspire some curiosity about my own internal location. I'm a pilgrim at Kumbha Mela.