Onward I go

On the last day of my trip to Italy, as I journeyed back to Rome where my adventure had begun, Rahat, my cousin who grew up in Italy shared a story. He turned my attention out the window of the bus to a bell tower in the distance. Long ago, he said, pilgrims made their way each year to Rome. Most were on foot. During their travels, they saw the appearance of a bell tower in every town or city. Seeing the towers meant they were close to food, water and shelter. The bell tower became a way to trace their path. They knew how far they had gone. And as they marked the tower, they knew how far they still had to go. I was captivated by Rahat’s tale of pilgrims on a journey. We were traveling to Rome as well, by bus, thankfully, rather than on foot. However, I began to watch for the bell towers as we rolled along, tracking our pilgrimage. I realized that my trip to Italy in the last 32 days could also be marked by bell towers. I have photographed the towers of any city, town or small town I visited in the last days without understanding their significance at the time. Most of the towns had one or more bell towers. The tower's height, previously associated with some wealthy families in the area, indicated the importance of the family. The villages’ towers were often near the center of the towns, in piazzas. Each one was uniquely different, ancient, and often still in use with working bells. My elder brother Sami and his friends, traveling companions on this trip, climbed a couple of them, trudging up hundreds of worn steps, to be rewarded with gorgeous panoramic views at the top. I thought about the historical relevance of the pilgrimage to my trip to Italy, as well as its importance to my life's journey. The word pilgrimage means the journey of a pilgrim, usually toward a holy city, such as Rome. Pilgrim comes from the Latin word peregrinus,which means stranger or foreigner. As I discovered while writing this memoir of 33 Days in Italy, travel is literally about how far a person can go in one day. Pilgrimage then means the distance a foreigner can travel in one day, day after day. Or from bell tower to bell tower. The deeper meaning became apparent to me. I am a pilgrim, a foreigner, on a daily trek. In Italy I was a foreigner. And here on the playground that is Earth, I am a foreigner too. My ultimate destination isn’t Rome, or Edinburgh, or any earthly city. It will be a return to God, a return to pure love. For now though, I wish to travel more… to amazing places around the world, and through life. I mark my passage by the events that happen, times of growth or upheaval, symbolic bell towers showing me how far I have come and how far I still have to go. I had wonderful companions on my trip. Some have been with me throughout my life, while others walked with me for only a short period of time. Everything tells me something about who I am and the journey I am taking. During my time in Italy, I was surrounded by locals who welcomed me with heart. We started off as strangers, except for my brother and cousin of course. By journey’s end we had become a family, a family whose members came from three different countries of three different continents. Like the pilgrims long ago, moving from bell tower to bell tower, we arrived at last in Rome. But that bustling city was not my resting place. Rather it launched me abroad, leaving my family behind to continue finding my way in life. I am so grateful for my Italian travels and the impact it has had on my life and on my journey. Onward I go, to the next bell tower.