The path of a pilgrimage is not an empty space between two places, to be traversed as quickly as possible, rather, it constitutes the very goal to be reached.
The path which separates the place of departure from the place of arrival is also an interval. Like place itself, it is semantically rich. The path of a pilgrimage, for instance, is not an empty space between two places that is to be traversed as quickly as possible. Rather, it constitutes the very goal to be reached. Being-on-one’s-way here is altogether meaningful. The walking means doing penance, healing or gratefulness. It is a prayer. The pilgrim’s path is not merely a thoroughfare, but a transition to a There. In temporal terms, the pilgrim is on the way to the future, which is expected to bring salvation. To that extent, he is not a tourist. A transition is an alien notion to a tourist for whom everywhere is Here and Now. A tourist is not on the way in the proper sense. Paths are impoverished, turned into empty thoroughfares that would not be worth seeing. The totalization of Here and Now divests the in-between spaces of any meaning. Today’s experience is characterized by the fact that it is very poor in transitions.
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Byung-Chul Han:
The path which separates the place of departure from the place of arrival is also an interval. Like place itself, it is semantically rich. The path of a pilgrimage, for instance, is not an empty space between two places that is to be traversed as quickly as possible. Rather, it constitutes the very goal to be reached. Being-on-one’s-way here is altogether meaningful. The walking means doing penance, healing or gratefulness. It is a prayer. The pilgrim’s path is not merely a thoroughfare, but a transition to a There. In temporal terms, the pilgrim is on the way to the future, which is expected to bring salvation. To that extent, he is not a tourist. A transition is an alien notion to a tourist for whom everywhere is Here and Now. A tourist is not on the way in the proper sense. Paths are impoverished, turned into empty thoroughfares that would not be worth seeing. The totalization of Here and Now divests the in-between spaces of any meaning. Today’s experience is characterized by the fact that it is very poor in transitions.
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