Pilgrim

In this collection, David Whyte looks at the great questions of human life through the eyes of the pilgrim: someone passing through relatively quickly, looking for the biggest context they can find or imagine, someone dependent on friendship, hospitality and help from friends and strangers alike, someone who has to ask for visible and invisible help. A pilgrim is someone up for adventure and good company. One of the central themes of a pilgrimage is internal resilience, the necessity for following a certain star not seen or perceived by anyone else, an internal migration running parallel to the outer road, keeping the journey in the world relevant and true. There is a necessity for hardiness, for shelter, for risk, for companionship, for vulnerability; for creating a more beautiful mind. Above all, a pilgrimage requires us to ask for help, to develop an ability to recognize when it is being offered, and the humor, humility and open hands to receive it.