And so it was that yet another day of my Walk ended in camaraderie and tenderness; surrounded by yet another small troupe of my far greater Family (Michele & Adrian & Ana & Chiara) – cutting carrots and breaking bread and sipping wine and laughing heartily and telling tales tall with Love & Kindness; witnessing […]
Michele had made it firmly clear that mornings in the monastery were “silence soaked” until 10am, and that if I wanted to stay the night there I would have to agree to remain quietly in the hostel until everyone had awakened and we had all eaten a late-morning breakfast together. Even though I staunchly preferred […]
Very soon after departing I came to this unmarked intersection in the road. It had been many weeks since The Way had been so poorly marked (Switzerland had been a constant orienteering adventure) and I had long-since forgotten the frustration & dis-ease (instinctual anxiety, even?) that comes from not clearly knowing one’s imminent route. And […]
“Sometimes walking means getting lost on a particular path, whereby you are inevitably led to return to a more meaningful version of yourself. Getting lost not only gives you the opportunity to boldly keep going anyway, it also grants you the more pointed knowing of a world that is at heart ever smiling. Getting lost […]
One of the guidelines I had followed from the beginning of this Walk was the “no hoarding” rule – a principle that demanded that any gifts of food be either immediately eaten, given to someone else, or discarded.* And it was the latter option that ruled the day on this morning – seeing as how […]
“It is true that you would do well to avoid keeping forever on the public road, going only where others have gone, and yet it is just as valid to note that it doesn’t matter what road you take if you are only taking it for your own peace or betterment … So go boldly […]
I walked on & on & on into the day, through the town of Senande and then into the hamlet of Agar – where I suddenly & quite clearly realized that I had fully lost my way (noting at some point that all of the Camino way-markers had completely disappeared). I responded far more fluidly […]
“This is life – choosing to love through loss. Seeking warm pockets in the bitter cold. Finding the worth of offering a smile on a cloudy day. Carrying the weight of others’ worlds on already weary shoulders … This is life – sorting through layers & layers of words all staring you straight in the […]
And then it was that I ambled up to the same Great Crossroads – the intersection where the pilgrim must choose to either walk to Finisterre or to Muxia; ultimately onward to the other anyway; and then inevitably back towards Home. And so it is, really, with any of Life’s major decisions – all of […]
And then began a string of encounters that was deeply magical – a series of returns to places recently visited; each one providing a fresh opportunity to embrace anew what had been given or denied. And first on the list was the hostel at Logoso, the lovely place that had fed me graciously and allowed […]
Oleveiroa, the place that had been so cruel & cold just a few days prior, was next on this wondrous list, and it was here that I paused to give yet another humble Gratitude. Yes, the town was essentially deserted, and neither those who had betrayed my journey nor the wonderful children who had been […]
;
