The center of St. Germain was remarkably deserted by the time I got there, and yet both body & Soul were telling me that this was the place to pause for the night, so I started looking for a pilgrim’s hostel &/or park bench upon which to sleep. It didn’t take long while doing so […]
While it is true that it is our actions — especially the ways we choose to interact with others — that by far most loudly & clearly share our deepest values & truest beliefs, there are other means & methods by which we can relay the same as well, with one of the more potent […]
It wasn’t often that I chose to walk in the dark during this pilgrimage — not only because I carried neither flashlight nor headlamp, but also because of the very real possibility of missing a waymarker in the shadows and thereby losing my way — and yet I did so on this early morning; setting […]
And onward I walked — slowly-yet-surefootedly through the steadily receding gloom; onward & onward, until sun finally did rise as I entered the riverside town of Brives-Charensac … 🙂 “There exists a universal order in which we each play a distinct role. Light always struggles to emerge from darkness, and each of us is ever […]
How interesting it was this morning to be blessed by a number of different sunrises, to realize firsthand that each day begins not when the sun rises its first time at a particular hour or from a specific point on the horizon, but rather that our lives are reborn in every single instant — every […]
“Completely detached from the bonds of home or union — and as such fully immersed in all that surrounds me, I wander in the omnipresent company of the Divine. I never move more quickly than the road desires, and treat all those encountered as cousins and soulmates. In this way I have made the Universe […]
Le Puy en Velay is a larger city (at least by Camino standards) for sure, and I was quite obviously already walking within its borders for many meters before I finally saw the truest proof that this was indeed the case: namely, the sight of the summit chapel of Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe — an architectural wonder […]
“There are two primary paths for anyone seeking to learn of the solace which is kept most hidden. The first is to initiate wholeheartedly into one’s given society, willingly fulfilling traditions that are popular and well-established. This is the path of delusion and — ultimately — despair … The second route is to boldly walk […]
And then it came to pass that I walked almost directly beneath the wondrous vision that was Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe … :O … What faith its builders must have cradled to complete such a masterpiece — with their heartfelt devotion so obviously emanating from its glory-ladled summit! :O 😀 “Above all the other gifts of Jesus […]
Second only to the mountain-spired chapel of Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe was Le Puy’s primary Catholic church, the Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Puy itself — one of France’s three primary departure hubs for the Camino de Santiago; a building the first sight of which forcing me to fully stop in my tracks and stare silent and dumbfounded, with […]
And so it was that — after 50+ days of journeying and some 750+ kilometers (460+ miles) of walking — I finally walked slowly and quite reverently up the long & wide staircase that led into the Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Puy, a destination that was as majestic within as it was without — the endpoint […]
;
