The Pilgrimage Within

Part 1 — The Climb

The first day of the Kumano Kodo was difficult.

Not mentally at first — physically.

The climb was relentless. Uphill for hours. My legs burned. My body became heavy. At moments, I questioned why I was even doing it. What was the point of walking for six or seven hours through mountains, carrying fatigue, discomfort, uncertainty, and even fear?

Before we started, I honestly wanted to do the walk.

The path felt lonely and isolated. We had heard stories about bear attacks in the forests of Japan, and the mind naturally began creating scenarios. Concern entered before the experience even started.

But something interesting happened during the climb.

At first, there was resistance:

• resistance to fear,
• resistance to discomfort,
• resistance to effort.

Then, slowly, something softened.

The body became so engaged that the mind started losing unnecessary noise. The question “why am I doing this?” stopped demanding an answer. I stopped trying to justify the experience and simply entered it.

And maybe that is the pilgrimage.

Not the mountain.
Not the temple.
Not the destination.

But the moment where the body and the mind finally stop fighting each other.

As athletes, we know this state well.

Every meaningful training session carries this same structure:

• effort,
• discomfort,
• surrender,
• alignment,
• flow.

The body is not separate from the spiritual journey. The body is often the doorway into it.

That is why effort matters.

Not because suffering is noble, but because sustained effort strips away distraction. It forces presence. It asks us to stay.

And maybe that is why so many sacred places are found at the top of mountains.

The climb prepares the person.

The temple is not only the destination.
The ascent changes the state of the person arriving there.