As it turned out I was one of the very last pilgrims to pull into the hostel that night, and simply assumed that I would quietly tidy up my body & Soul and turn in for the night without being able to share with any other pilgrims who were similarly doing the same. And yet […]
I woke this morning thinking it was 6am when it was actually only 3, and quietly used the extra time to gratefully soak up the pre-dawn’s silent solitude – first while sitting in a stairwell and making some Peace Stones for hospitaleros Alfonso & Raquel & Luis, and then while sitting outside eating a breakfast […]
I headed later that still-early morning to a local Ponferrada cafe where I met up once again with my dear Friend, Naisah, and was blessed to sit with her for several hours there, reveling in heartfelt conversation about Life & Friendship & the Camino & Kindness. What a Joy to meet Old Friends once more […]
I then set back out onto The Way, walking smoothly through Ponferrada proper – munching joyfully on the banana chips & mango juice that Naisah had given as a parting blessing for my journey, and stopping briefly IN to the beautiful Basilica Virgen de la Encina on my way out of town … “The Divine’s […]
“Whenever we find ourselves stuck, whenever we find ourselves lost or confused by the chaos of the world, we can be sure that the only way to free ourselves is to take action of some kind. Just as kindness is the only way to bring peace to discord and Love is the only thing that […]
This day’s initial portion of the Walk (from Ponferrada proper, through the suburb of Columbrianos, and then to the small town of Fuentesnuevas) was heavily laden with churches, hermitages, chapels, and spiritual sanctuaries – among them the Iglesia de Santa Maria de Compostella, the Iglesia de San Esteban (and its beautiful carved-wood altar), the Ermita […]
A common site along The Way – pilgrims from all over the world gathered together as One … “How beautiful it is to get up and go out and do something – anything – for others. We aren’t here on Earth just to selfishly fart around. We are here to be actively generous with our […]
I then continued onward only a bit further through the town of Fuentesnuevas to its church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (Our Lady of the Assumption) – a place that radiated much of the Peace of The Way of its professed Lord & Savior, and very little of the concerning condemnations professed by the […]
Onward I walked into the town of Camponaraya, where I paused at the Paroquia de San Ildefonoso – a church that proved once again that, just as a book cannot be properly judged by its cover – nor a person properly condemned by his or her indoctrinated ignorance (or even acquired wisdom), a building’s sense […]
Newsflash: not all Sanctuaries are found in solitude, and not all Sanctuaries have four walls. “It is crucial to understand that solace is not meant to be an answer in & of itself, but is rather an invitation that opens – often through the door of pain and difficulty – to the innately profound & […]
And it was shortly thereafter that I remembered (and re-membered) yet another crucial Life Lesson; one that both Camino pilgrims & Life pilgrims would all do well to embody – namely: that whenever an imminent encounter looks likely to be closed off or under-appreciative or in any way dysfunctional*; if there ever is an obvious […]
;
