I hope to never forget to leave - Image and Pilgrimage

Matthew Hutchins
9/18/17

I think I am just beginning to understand what to means to decenter myself from religious culture that I often find myself in. It takes such a long time in order to remind myself who I am and who God is around me in the context of wilderness and journey traveling. It is almost like being surrounded by all of the religious traditions slowly add on more and more laws and rules that you must do in order to be a religious type of person. That is why I think I need spaces like one Victor Turner talks about a space where the subject become ambiguous. I need spaces like the Nolan trail or a wild, rugged wilderness area in Montana. It is in those places I think I find myself again, a place where Matthew does not rule and I can exist as a human being amidst other living beings. The most simple way of living allows myself to be who I have always wanted to be. Then when I return to the life surrounded by tradition I can live with reason and purpose again. Those places that are away from friends and predicable days are what I hope to always return to. The goal is to never be so trapped by culture and religious tradition that I can not leave. I want to be reminded over and over again where I belong.

This summer in Montana it took around a month for me to become detached from what I was used to. Everything that was thrown at me was new and different. I was so thrown at first and did not know how to handle it all. Once I began to relax and hike more it became such a natural way of life. I would hike, cut trees, sleep and eat. Day after day, week after week I became more and more detached from what I knew and stepped into freedom.

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