Describing a depth experience - Essay Example

. . 1 For those of who still maintain religious belief in these troubled times, this formulation sounds very familiar. It is far too easy to lose ourselves in the material world and forget that there is something more out there—something that means more than what we can see around us. Accordingly, in this essay, I will try to describe my own experience with “depth.” When I was around sixteen years old, I was very troubled. I had many doubts about myself and about the world in general. I was confused and somewhat unhappy.

I had lots of friends and played many sports, but nevertheless I was sometimes left at a loss as to how to explain the world to myself. Some days everything would just seem to be too much for me, and I would go to a quiet place to be alone and think about things. One spring my family and I took a vacation to the island of Malta. Malta is a small island in the Mediterranean near Sicily. It is only about 300 square kilometres in size but there are many people living there. The island is very historic, with many old churches and a deep and abiding faith in Catholicism.

When I first arrived in Malta, I didn’t like it very much. It seemed too cramped and small. Although the weather was sunny and warm, the food was not very good and many of the cars and buildings seemed old and decrepit. So I had gone to Malta with a closed-mind and it was hard for me to appreciate it. One day, when I was walking by myself on a beach, I stopped to buy a soda from an old man who was selling drinks near the water. He must have been in his eighties; the skin on his face looked like battered leather.

As I was paying for the soda, the man asked me, “Tell me, son, why do you look so lonely and lost.” I was a bit taken aback. I told him I was just walking along the beach for fresh air. He said, “Have you come to Malta on a pilgrimage? Did you know this is a very holy place? Many famous men have come to his island to discover something about themselves.