Farewell

As our journey has concluded, I wish to bid my loyal followers and blog readers farewell. I have enjoyed sharing my thoughts, feelings, and experiences of my journey with all of you.

I will return to London soon and resume my studies at Oxford. I look forward to revisiting the classrooms and learning more new material. If I could leave you now with one word of advice, it would be this:

"Education is the best provision to the journey to old age."
Aristotle

This happens to be my favorite quote of Aristotle's because it is so very true and important. Striving for education keeps the mind and body young. Always strive to learn and be grateful for opportunities to do so!

Goodbye!

Welcome to Canterbury

We finally arrived in Canterbury today after a long and grueling journey and proceeded immediately to the shrine of St. Thomas á Becket.

We all paid our respects to the wonderful man who gave of his life in a most terrible way for what he believed in. It was a very solemn afternoon and a very quiet and reflective moment for all of us. Seeing the shrine today made all the trials and tribulations of the journey worth it.

This experience helped me realize the importance of standing up for your beliefs. If you feel strongly about something, never give up on that belief regardless of the persecution you receive. As I have quoted Aristotle many times, I will leave you for now with a quote of my own:

"Do as you believe and believe what you do. No matter the punishment, you will never regret your actions."

- The Oxford Cleric

A Common Bond

We have made great progress toward the ultimate goal of our journey. That is to say we are nearing Canterbury and the shrine of St. Thomas á Becket.

When the journey began, I was excited at the proposition of traveling with such a diverse group of people. However, I soon realized I had little in common with any of them and the journey soon became miserable. I had no one to share my thoughts or concerns with. As the days progressed, I learned more about each of the other travelers and found some to be very likeable. Others were hard to deal with daily but I have come to understand and respect each of my companions more.

While all thirty-one of us have different views, beliefs, and professions, I have come to the realization that we all have one thing in common: our quest to the shrine.

I started on this journey feeling that all members of the traveling party had their priorities mixed up....except myself, but I now understand that no one is perfect. I may not get along with everyone but I do have this journey in common with them.

Bobbe-up-and-doun

We are here in Bobbe-up-and-doun, a city close to Canterbury. I am very pleased that we are resting here. The people in this city are very friendly to us, and told us that many pilgrims stop here to rest on their voyage to Canterbury.

In this city is a leaper hospital, the Hospital of St. Nicholas. Patients from the hospital support themselves by displaying a slipper that St. Thomas a Becket wore. I highly doubt that they actually had St. Thomas a Becket’s slipper, however, I felt the need to take pity on the inmates, so I donated a shilling. I also had a chat with the leapers, and they are seemingly more intelligent than half the pilgrims I am traveling with to the shrine. I am stating this because people tend to stereotype the leapers and I want it known that they are people too.

We are so very far from home, and I worry that I will never catch up on my reading. I think my social skills have improved over the course of this trip, and I am rather proud of our group’s progress, both in miles and mentally. Speaking of miles, this town has very poor roads, and I dread continuing on tomorrow. In spite of that, I am very anxious to be so close to the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket! Unfortunately, I must be going now, as the Wife of Bath is calling.