"C.S. Lewis, in his second letter to me at Oxford, asked how it was that I, as a product of a materialistic universe, was not at home there. 'Do fish complain of the sea for being wet? Or if they did, would that fact itself not strongly suggest that they had not always been, or wd. always be, purely aquatic creatures? Then, if we complain of time and take such joy in the seemingly timeless moment, what does that suggest?" (A Severe Mercy, Sheldon Vanuaken, p. 203)
After reading this line, I became piqued with curiosity about the development of spiritual journeys. If we compare the idea of a spiritual journey with the sacred journey we all in some sense make throughout our life, this quote accounts some of this curiosity. Just like Christians found their desire for eternity in the actual existence of eternity, so pilgrims ascribe some faith in the validity of the journey to transform them, to lead to encounter (in Buber's sense). A desire for communion with the ultimate, according to C.S. Lewis' quoted musings, can only be attributed to its actual existence. If spiritual journeys are founded on the principle that pilgrims will seek what they will find, then the question becomes, what is it that pilgrims seek? The answer to this question may be as numerous as the there are pilgrims. Some do desire this communion, and engage readily in the askesis the trail can bring about. For others though, they only want beautiful scenery, an impressive story, the pride of accomplishing a difficult task. While all of these things may be legitimate desires, in and of themselves they are a shallow experience. Spiritual journeys, contrarily, while incorporating these desires, deal with what I believe to be a deeper level of purpose and motivation: a journey towards (and even with) the ultimate.
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