A pilgrim’s tale: Harvey Gillman embraces ‘liberation, exile, and confinement all at once’
‘I have stopped at many shrines sacred and profane (though I am unsure about the difference).’
When I came back from a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela some years ago, I attached a shell, the symbol of that journey, onto a rucksack to remind me that everyday was a pilgrimage. One day, I lost the shell at a supermarket. I had to remember that symbols were useful but not necessary, though they can sometimes lead to interesting conversations with strangers. When I look back at the journey of my life, it does seem like a pilgrimage. I have stopped at many shrines sacred and profane (though I am unsure about the difference). Or perhaps they are just oases where I can pause momentarily from the restless search. Many of these places have given me gifts and changed me in some way.
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