PILGRIM, n, a traveler that is taken seriously ~ Ambrose Bierce

PILGRIMAGE, ‘a journey to a sacred place, in the expectation of transformation ~ Donald Grayston

Sometime in 2008 I discovered the Japanese pilgrim's coat. A simple coat painted with Buddhist mantras in flowing Japanese calligraphy caught my attention. I was so intrigued by this garment that I saved the picture.

A person wore a pilgrim coat as they traveled from temple to temple on their spiritual journey. Each temple had its own stamp, and so pilgrims would gather vivid imprints on to their garments. The coat of a pilgrim who had been traveling for some time would have looked something like a cross between a passport and prayer book.

The Context of Spiritual Care offers the possibility of pilgrimages:

Our pilgrimage to Bethlehem through "the wilderness of a seasonal frenzy";
and our pilgrimage as individuals and as a corporate body through the changing times and terrain.
What vivid imprints have we gathered? What will our pilgrim coats look like in the future? How as "pilgrims on a journey, fellow travelers on the road? will we "help each other walk the mile and bear the load"?

~from The Servant Song, Richard Gillard

(en) courage, Sally

"Life's journey requires
the courage of a pioneer,
the honesty of a child,
the imagination of an artist,
and the confidence of the naïve.
Travel boldly."

~ Tom Heuerman