Ethan Persaud - Walking as Spiritual Practice

A key takeaway that I got from the American Camino was the idea of walking as a spiritual practice. Walking is never something that I took for granted. Through my time in Boy Scouts, I learned to always appreciate a good walk or hike. It is something that I always enjoyed, but I think this reading made me gain a deeper appreciation for it. That walking isn’t something that is purely physical and functional, but something almost sacred. It connected to the in class discussion on the concept of sacrament, something ordinary and making it sacred. In this story, walking the Appalachian Trail was more than a physical journey, but it transformed into an inwards journey as well. Every step represented not only progress in distance, but progress in understanding yourself. I have had similar experiences throughout my life with walking as well. To complete the hiking merit badge in Boy Scouts, the penultimate task is to complete a 20 mile hike. This is something that I had never done before. At the start of the merit badge the furthest hike that I had completed was a 10 mile hike, and that I thought was fine enough. A 20 mile hike would prove to take me a while to complete. After starting that hike and getting in the zone, I began to understand that it wasn’t just a physical journey I was completing, but a mental one. I knew I had the physical ability to finish the 20 mile hike, but I needed to overcome the mental hurdle of pushing my body to the finish line. Similar to my story, there are many normal actions in life that take on this greater meaning depending on the mindset that we bring. Even something as routine as going to class every day can become more meaningful if it is viewed as part of a larger journey of growth. I thought that this reading was great for reflection on how this transformation can happen gradually and through repeated action, not in one dramatic moment.

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