This is Violeta, a soft-spoken woman who was begging outside the church doors as I exited. And this is Violeta, who – after hearing about my Walk and its purely penniless nature – tried to give me money from her own beggar’s cup … :O “Heroes don’t leap tall buildings in a single bound or […]
As I flowed onward and left Astorga proper, I came to a lovely little wayside chapel – the Ermita de l’Ecce Homo* – on the far outskirts of town … “The Way is the transformation of self which is represented in the humanity of Jesus. Now let the Holy Spirit thunder forth from you similarly […]
“The creative, the restless, and the ethically driven are never content with the status quo. They ever look for ways to move forward, to do things that others have not, to scale or skirt the walls of conventional cowardice and bring as many as possible along for that far Greater Ride. For once such a […]
I walked smoothly onward into the day, into and through the village of Santa Catalina, and then just as smoothly passed by Adam and his mother Audrey – two fellow pilgrims who were listening to a Buddhist-sounding podcast by Ajahn Brahm on the nature of disagreement. Intrigued by their warm vibe and unusual manner of […]
It was an easy jaunt into the near outskirts of the town of Rabanal, where I stopped briefly with Adam and his entire family (this time also with sister #02 and his father as well, who had both walked ahead earlier in the day) to make and then give them all their Peace Stones. After […]
I then eased onward into Rabanal proper and just easily found The Stone Boat, the hostel owned & run by Kim (a mutual acquaintance of my fond friend Mia), who had known I was near and was already prepared to welcome me in with a happy smile and a warm heart … “Offering sanctuary to […]
I woke after a great night’s sleep and shared and easy, peaceful breakfast with Kim and my other house-guest, Matt – grateful to the former for her gracious hospitality, and grateful to the latter for his gentle kindness. Even though there is without a doubt a very real “pandemic of selfishness” in the world these […]
On my way out of town I stopped once more into the powerfully solace-filled San Salvador del Monte Irago Monastery (where I had been blessed to spiritually soak up an amazing Gregorian chanted mass the night before – saying prayers for peace for all who were suffering, and heartfelt offerings of gratitude for the providence […]
“I am no scientist, and yet I can choose to explore my community nonetheless. An infant who has just learned to hold up his head has a frank and forthright way of gazing about him in untainted bewilderment. He hasn’t the faintest clue where he is, and yet he adores it all just the same. […]
I walked thereafter with strong smoothness up and into and through the neighboring town of Foncebadon, knowing with astonishing clarity while I did so that any wall – however “enlightened” or otherwise well-intended – that we erect between our Self and any other is simultaneously a wall erected between our Self and Life itself. We […]
Shortly thereafter I arrived at the Cruz de Fero – the Iron Cross; a famed Camino highlight where pilgrims were encouraged to leave a stone (or other symbol of remembrance) to either honor loved ones or release past traumas or current tribulations. Two of the stones I had been carrying with me were for Daniel, […]
;
