Lem Thyret - Pilgrimage Project Reflection

Lem Thyret

Labyrinth Reflection #1

“The first commandment for every good explorer is that an expedition has two points: the point of departure and the point of arrival. If your intention is to make the second theoretical point coincide with the actual point of arrival, don't think about the means -- because the journey is a virtual space that finishes when it finishes, and there are as many means as there are different ways of 'finishing.' That is to say, the means are endless.” – The Motorcycle Diaries.

This is the second time I have encountered this quote when doing analysis, but it is so perfect I felt it had to be used in my labyrinth reflection.  This labyrinth project has opened my mind on how I view and approach school and life in new ways.  During my junior year at Poly I really had difficulty coming to terms with why I was taking classes like Biology and Calculus, as I had no interest or desire to pursue either of them.  While my reasoning still holds true now, I realize I should have been focused on enjoying the time and experience I had in those classes.  It was never about the subjects themselves, but about the teachers, and the classmates and knowledge for knowledge’s sake.  I became so focused on an unmotivated end that the means, the journey, was irrelevant.  This year reading about both fiction and non-fictional pilgrimages opened my mind to not concerning myself as much with the end.  The end of a journey is only the result of the path to get there.  This mindset has completely changed how I’ve experienced my senior year and our labyrinth is a symbol for the extraordinary path I’ve taken since the first day of school.  Guevara didn’t know what his end plan was when he first left during his medical career.  He wasn’t focused on the end prize, he just followed an instinct and a calling he had.  He followed a desire to make a difference and help others.  This May we will all take a scary leap of faith without knowing exactly what the end results will be.  In August, we will continue our individual journeys still unaware of the unknown but marching ahead.  In the year 2021 we may be completely different people, with different friends, surroundings and desires but it will be the closing of one door and the unfolding of yet another adventure.  The labyrinth has taught me that those dates above mean nothing at all; it is only about the experiences within those times that will be impactful.  It’s the acceptance that I do not know what lies ahead, but I’m ready to take a path and experience the world with a new perspective. 

Labyrinth Reflection #2

“Siddhartha did not answer. He felt little curiosity for the teachings, he did not believe that they would teach him anything new, but he had, just as Govinda had, heard the contents of this Buddha's teachings again and again, though these reports only represented second- or third-hand information. But attentively he looked at Gotama's head, his shoulders, his feet, his quietly dangling hand, and it seemed to him as if every joint of every finger of this hand was of these teachings, spoke of, breathed of, exhaled the fragrant of, glistened of truth. This man, this Buddha was truthful down to the gesture of his last finger. This man was holy. Never before, Siddhartha had venerated a person so much, never before he had loved a person as much as this one.” – Siddhartha

Last year, as part of my junior speech I performed an experiment.  I went a whole week without using my cell phone to see how my social interaction would change with my peers and teachers.  It was one of the most anxiety filled, socially stressful weeks I’ve had since middle school.  I hadn’t realized how much my cell phone use had changed my everyday routines.  I realized how much I felt I didn’t fit in with the smart math and science, straight A type crowd that is very present on campus.  While one would think information is the key component between Siddhartha and the Buddha, the only aspects that appeal to Siddhartha are those unrelated to the subject at hand.

The information you came to obtain is worthwhile but the knowledge you’ll obtain from your surroundings and senses will be unforgettable.  I find this statement to relate to Siddhartha’s relationship with the Buddha and to be true about my experience at Poly.  While the academics are world renowned, at times I felt out of place and that I didn’t belong.  It was really the “surrounding luxuries” that have made Poly such a great environment.  These luxuries are what confirmed that I did belong here, as I will be walking away this June with more than I could have ever asked for from anywhere else.  I have traveled to France, Klamath, Joshua Tree, sections of The Colorado River and I have even biked along the central west coast as part of an Polytechnic Outdoor Education Trip.  The friends I have made will be friends for life.  The music and literature I have created sitting around Arden lawn and in the library will last forever.  I love this quote because it reminds me of all the positive aspects that have affected my life while I’ve been at Poly.  Like Siddhartha, the information I came for may not have perfectly suited my needs as I had once thought it should (but now think it has), but the experience and the presence it expressed is what has made it so attractive.  I am so grateful to everyone who has supported me throughout my time at Poly. 

Labyrinth Reflection #3

We all formed in a single file line waiting to walk one third of a mile through the path of the labyrinth to the center and back.  Overlooking the staircase like garden that lead from the bottom of the mansion, I zoned out completely.  I kept my head down and followed the path walking in one way only to retreat back to the same direction.  Once we reached the center we all formed a circle around the star in the middle without saying a word as if we’d all done this before.  It was almost as if we all came together to pray and look upon a higher power together.  After a couple minutes, after we had all made it to the center, we naturally reordered in a single file line again and proceeded to follow the same path out.  Right when I began to leave the center, it began raining hard.  Others flipped up their hoods and opened their umbrellas.  I was wearing a windbreaker with a hood, but I left the hood down and let the hard rain come down on my face and hair.  The rain dripped off my jacket like a shield but I accepted the fact that I was going to get wet.  In almost a child like experience, I wanted to get wet.  I wanted to feel the rain on me.  I came to terms with the fact that I was going to get wet and I didn’t have control over the weather or where I was going to walk.  I found this very relatable to accumulated stress that has built up within myself.  There are going to be times when we don’t have control over our futures or the paths we take.  We can do our best to protect ourselves from that reality or make ourselves more comfortable on our journeys, or we can accept it.  I came to a state of acceptance.  I didn’t settle for being uncomfortable, I accepted it and viewed it with a positive outlook.  Looking back on my disappointing summer where I was unable to find a job, instead of bottling up an uncontrollable reality, I should have accepted that reality and consumed myself with a new passion such as guitar.  Since then, my Pilgrimage project has been focused on making up for lost time learning about guitar. 

            My favorite story in this class was The Motorcycle Diaries.  I love this story because of Guevara’s intent.  He has a delving passion, a gut feeling telling him to leave medical school and assist people all around South America.  To me this is the greatest Pilgrimage we have looked at because Guevara makes a huge life decision to follow and path a see where it takes him.  He lets God take the wheel and his destiny is out of his hands.  It’s appealing because I feel my classmates and I, are all in a sense doing that with picking a college.  We may have visited the campus, but we’re going to spend the next four years of our lives at an institution.  Nursing majors may switch to business majors and marketing majors to environmental science studies.  College is a symbol to all of us for the unknown and we are all about to venture on to life changing journeys as Guevara did.  The next four years are going to shape and form who we are and as much as we’d like to think we’re in control, the forces shaping us are the ones driving the bus.

Pilgrimage Reflection #1

My goals of embracing a positive attitude, making small adjustments to my everyday routines, such as: listening to happier music and talking to new people, and taking time out of my day to enjoy nature and meditate is going fabulously.  This semester has resulted in positive energy, new personal interactions and better academic class settings and grades.  This is not so much a drastic moment of change in my life, but rather a recovery.  My summer was absolutely miserable.  I spent little time with my friends and I set my mind on finding paid work to further support my music ambitions, but was let done after applying to over 40 different job applications.  Now I look back, upset to think that I could have spent that time making more music, as I am now busier than ever. 

My year has been changed with a different mindset.  Since school has started and I have embarked on this journey I have accomplished all of my original goals and more.  I am participating in more group discussions, I have found a new job and I am making the best music I have ever created.  Sometimes the outcomes do not always match what we expect, but in my case I would not change the outcome for anything. 

Pilgrimage Reflection #2

I am still contemplating on where to focus my attention for my Pilgrimage Project and would like to meet with you sometime next week to discuss it.  However, I think I’ve found a good start.  I spent the class time today doing research on physical objects that would represent my newfound passions for guitar and positive thinking/energy.  I thought a good way to combine these two would be to create wooden guitar picks that represent inspiration, creativity and positive thinking.  Three major themes to my successful semester.  I watched several videos on how to make wooden guitar picks and the materials I’d need to make them from scratch.  I think this project would be simple enough for me to do, as well as allowing me to put my own creative spin on it.  I have a couple other ideas that might work better if you’d like to discuss them. 

            Now that Thanksgiving is coming up I will definitely have some quality time to embody creative, positive thinking, as well as some guitar playing.  Now that I have come out of my summer slump and have gotten back to the daily grind of school, I will really be able to appreciate these few days off for Thanksgiving. 

Pilgrimage Reflection #3

Now at the end of the first semester of my senior year, reading my first two reflections about my Pilgrimage project was really insightful.  I honestly had no idea what my pilgrimage was until the last week in November.  I was in a sense panicking and not realizing my true pilgrimage of my passion for guitar had been in front of my the entire time.  I don’t believe my first two pilgrimage reflection due justice to the amount of work and passion I have put into learning new songs and studying about guitar legends.  What has and will continue to motivated pursuing this passion is the fact that both of my grandfathers (on each side of the family) have given me guitars that are truly unique and special in their own ways.  My grandfather, on my mother’s side, gave me a 1949 Martin Acoustic Guitar and my grandfather, on my father’s side, gave me a signed Eddie Van Halen Guitar.  Two artifacts that will are spectacular for their own reasons, but both have the same amount of value to me.  I am so grateful for the time to dedicate towards pursing new, old or continuous passions and hobbies.  The fact that I was able to research about my family’s musical roots, as well as those in my surroundings has really motivated me to continue this passion in a way I didn’t think possible several months ago.  I am so glad to have found this driving force within me, that I will be able to delve deeper into and maybe one-day share with the world.