Are you a Pilgrim or a Tourist?

About a decade ago I attended a sermon that challenged me with the question: “Are you a pilgrim or a tourist?” That sermon made a massive impact on my life and gave me significant perspective. This imagery was used to explain to us how to live our lives: A tourist only wants to experience the highlights package, while moving from one high point to the next. A tourist typically travels by plane, bus or taxi to their destination. They are seldom content in the present moment and always plan ahead to be at another point in the future.

“Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.” – Mother Teresa

On the contrary, a pilgrim is someone who literally experiences all parts of life, including the highs and lows. They live a more complete life, realising that it is important to experience, cherish and appreciate every single moment – the good and the bad. A pilgrim typically travels by foot, so they see and experience the here and the now – the fresh air, the rain on their skin, the light breeze against their cheeks, the song of the birds and the insects in the grass next to the path. A pilgrim learns from difficult times, which equips them to better face the same challenge the next time it arises.

ATGATT
I grew up in an era in which lead-based paint, asbestos panel heaters and car backseats without seatbelts were the norm. So was riding my off-road motorcycle every afternoon after school on farm roads wearing flip-flops, shorts and a T-shirt – but no helmet. Things have changed since then, and I suppose my bones have become more brittle. For this reason, I now believe in ATGATT, which is an acronym for the motorcycling term: “All the gear, all the time”. This basically means that I don’t ride anywhere without wearing my full motorcycle safety kit. This is a pain, though, because it takes time, so it often stops me from taking shorter trips.

Then one day, I shifted my mind, after realising that gearing up and down before and after a trip is part of the riding experience. My riding experience does not only begin when I turn the throttle of my motorbike. It is actually much longer, and it incorporates all aspects on either side of the ride.
This is an important principle, and if we don’t make this mind shift in all of our experiences, we won’t appreciate every moment of life. Then, like the tourist in the sermon, we will only live for life’s highlights. The sad net result will then be that when we are 80 years old one day, we will have actually only lived for 60 years. We will not have experienced 25% of our lives, because we wished to bypass certain parts of it as quickly as possible…

All we have is now…
My dad used to tell me that if I work, I need to work hard and if I play, then I need to play hard. He warned me against trying to combine or confuse the two. By implication, he was saying that if we work, then we shouldn’t pollute our minds with thoughts of play, and if we play, then we must enjoy it and not deprive ourselves of those happy moments. We need to be focused in the moment on what is required of us. All we have is now, not the next minute, hour, day, or week – only now. As leaders of ourselves, we are required to have vision, and we have to plan for the future, but we can only live in the now.

“Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.” – Bil Keane

Only the now is guaranteed, and that is where our focus should be. If we daydream about tomorrow or focus our attention on something else, as opposed to really paying attention to what someone tells us in conversation, for example, then we are not living in the present moment.
Lao Tzu said that if we are depressed, then we are living in the past. If we are anxious, then we are living in the future. If we are at peace, though, then we are living in the present moment. We cannot afford to rob the only certain moment that we have by focusing on a future that is not guaranteed. Don’t let your future, or your past for that matter, be the thief of your present…

Written by:
Hekkie van der Westhuizen, PhD