“The only way to make sense out of life’s changes & challenges is to plunge into them, to move with them, to dance alongside them … The land exerts itself on all and ever has its effect. Whether we are roughed up or soothed, exhilarated or depressed, assisted or wholly prevailed upon, kindness is always […]
What then followed was a several-kilometer stretch of The Way that was regularly sprinkled with jubilant reunions with pilgrim-friends past – first James (whom I had amusingly called Sebastian in Granon and then Dave in Hontanas) and then Javi & Gines (who offered me a hunk of their precious fresh bread) and then an uber-exuberant […]
“Does the road make the traveler, or the traveler the road? Yes, to both, without question … It is amazing what we can discover when we have no idea where we’re going, and it is far more amazing still what we can unlock in others when we walk our Way with Love.” ~ via Marty […]
This little pathside chapel was locked up tight at the time, and yet nothing could limit or contain the Peace & Beauty it beamed from within … “All would do well to remember that authentic faith ALWAYS leads US to treat others with an unconditional earnestness and a loving reverence. Each human personality – both […]
I eventually made it back to the small city of Negreira, where my string of happy reunions continued; this time re-meeting Kim & Kathy, the special needs teachers from New Hampshire I had first met back in Viana) … “Pilgrim friend, do not follow me blindly. Instead, let us simply be fabulously where and who […]
I then thereafter made it back to the beautiful town of Ponte Maceira and was blessed once more to cross its Peace-instilling bridge … “Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it; the river that was cut by the world’s great flood and that even today runs over rocks from the […]
I ambled onward and came to pause in the town of Trasmonte – to sit a bit and re-tape the soles of my shoes. Big-smiling Bernard (who I had first met when previously walking through Sahagun) then approached from the opposite vector and sat with me a while – offering me an ice-cold Coca-Cola and […]
“Pilgrimage is just as much a journey inward as it is a journey out. As we soar the skies and sail the waters and crack the undisturbed soils of the earth, we too delve into our own memories’ caverns, peek around the corners of our own dreams, tremble before our fire-breathing terrors, axe to splinters […]
“It must be openly stated that if I have indeed gone further than others, it is only by riding on the shoulders of giants that I have done so … We all have grand journeys within us, and must allow ourselves to be drawn thereto; drawn by the strong & silent pull of that which […]
Buoyed by the many loving reunions with which I had been blessed on this day, the final leg of walking proved to be powerful and easy, and it was with high spirits and a strong gait that I rounded my next beautiful bend and saw Santiago once more … “There are certain places that exist […]
“When people or lives disappoint you it’s normal to build walls and not allow anyone to climb them. And yet when we get hurt or harmed we need to learn how to build bridges instead. When life disappoints or damages, build bridges. When others frustrate or terrorize, build bridges. When you fail or freeze or […]
;
