The question is the answer

I was listening to an NPR radio story on Sunday about David Downie’s book called Paris to the Pyrenees: A Skeptic Pilgrim Walks the Way of Saint James. He was interviewed by Jacki Lyden about his journey walking through the Burgundy wine country and stopping at little inns throughout his journey, which was for some a spiritual pilgrimage. It was more than a physical journey since he said he was “breaking away and unplugging and seeking silence and trying to answer some of the big questions.”

When asked what he found, he talks about a conversation with a monk in a monastery who tells him that “anyone who does this pilgrimage – or any pilgrimage – is driven by an irresistible urge to do it, and they don’t know where it comes from. And sometimes they figure it out while they are walking, or afterwards, or never.”  The story ends with him saying that he came back with more questions and that the question is the answer.

This phrase has echoed in my head all week, as a sort of mantra. Aside from the obvious appeal of his pilgrimage, or any journey that takes one away from comfortable surroundings, his mental starting and stopping point really hit the mark for me. I’ve written about both travel and pilgrimages in the past, but his interview combined the two neatly into one situation.

As a starting point, he just wants to get unplugged. I am not a hugely plugged in person, but I do spend a fair bit of time on computers. Phones and texting have less appeal to me, but they too occupy a portion of my waking hours. I have tried organizing my day so that I only check email and looking at computer screens during a few hours during the mid-day, and found this quite appealing. But, the idea of being on a journey and never checking phone or email is even better.

The trail itself sounds wonderful. He started in Paris, carrying a backpack, and tried to stay off of the road as much as possible.  This meant that he walked through rural spaces which were much less peopled, and had to rely on farms and chance encounters for water. Unlike camping, it sounded like people were part of his journey.

Finally, the most moving part of the story was the phrase “the question is the answer.” When I escape the confines of everyday life, thoughts and ideas come to me that have been buried deep in my consciousness. It’s almost like pulling the stopper of the bottle and letting the Genie emerge, and feels as though I am returning back to who I am. I have always had more questions than answers. Sometimes this has made me feel like I lack commitment, but early in my training as an artist I learned that there are many correct solutions to a problem. This makes life less like a puzzle and more like a series of questions. To conclude that the question is the answer gives the question more value, and the questioner more room to learn and grow.