on saturday morning, I will be leaving to go to israel, on pilgrimage. going on pilgrimage is a very special thing, a spiritual journey... and I don't feel prepared :(
naturally it is impossible to fully prepare for such a thing, but right now I feel that there's been so much going on that I haven't even had time to think about what's going to happen. all I know is that when I leave here on friday evening (going to my parents to stay the night), I'll have nothing else to worry about. I think when I get there I'll probably get more "into" it, but I'm hoping that I will be able to spend some time to actually get ready for it.
pilgrimage doesn't happen too often (last time was in '96), as there are usually many people from all over the world and one has to wait for about 5 years since last time after applying again. and then wait in line... there's of course the possibility of going on a 3-day visit, and last time I did that was in 2005. really loved it back then.
I did get to read a bit of the book Baha'i Pilgrimage while in norway:
although I only got about halfways through it, it was definitely a good start to things. I'm really looking forward to going, it's going to be great to be able to forget about all the worldly things and feel closer to God, praying in the Shrines and visiting all the Holy Places. I just hope the difference won't be too big when I come back...
I have my camera, going to take lots of pictures, and then hope to be able to put some sort of presentation or slideshow when I get back, possibly even at work. we'll see :)
naturally it is impossible to fully prepare for such a thing, but right now I feel that there's been so much going on that I haven't even had time to think about what's going to happen. all I know is that when I leave here on friday evening (going to my parents to stay the night), I'll have nothing else to worry about. I think when I get there I'll probably get more "into" it, but I'm hoping that I will be able to spend some time to actually get ready for it.
pilgrimage doesn't happen too often (last time was in '96), as there are usually many people from all over the world and one has to wait for about 5 years since last time after applying again. and then wait in line... there's of course the possibility of going on a 3-day visit, and last time I did that was in 2005. really loved it back then.
I did get to read a bit of the book Baha'i Pilgrimage while in norway:
although I only got about halfways through it, it was definitely a good start to things. I'm really looking forward to going, it's going to be great to be able to forget about all the worldly things and feel closer to God, praying in the Shrines and visiting all the Holy Places. I just hope the difference won't be too big when I come back...
I have my camera, going to take lots of pictures, and then hope to be able to put some sort of presentation or slideshow when I get back, possibly even at work. we'll see :)
israel? don't you feel a little scared of going there?
ReplyDeleteone could think so... but I must say that I feel almost the opposite - when I was there two years ago, I've never felt so safe. it's a very calming atmosphere there.
ReplyDeleteand also, I'll pretty much only be in haifa, which is on the north side of israel...