Day 18e: Walking into Wonderland … (05/02/2019)
It hadn’t been the longest walk in the world (only some 13 kilometers, or about 8 miles) when I rolled into the sweet village of Kleinluetzel and yet I was already pretty fatigued and my ankles were already aching & swollen again, so I entered the local Catholic church and rested there awhile. The church floor provided cool respite for my now bare feet and the empty silence provided cool solace for my now calmer mind, and yet somehow I was restless, and kept experiencing an inexplicable urge to step back outside. Finally heeding this bizarre (and not at all self-serving) summons, I did so and immediately saw a woman walking past with her grandson. I approached her and told her generally of my pilgrimage and asked if she knew how the Camino flowed onward through town, and she invited me to sit in her next-door garden while she looked for a map.
And what a garden it was! I sat gratefully down upon the bench therein and rested my still-bare feet on delightfully soft moss while a warm spring wind allowed flowering trees nearby to shower me with their petals. It was truly one of The Walk’s more perfect moments, and I was aglow with Gratitude by the time she returned … 🙂
“One who has chosen the life of Love cannot by nature ponder or worry about his own life. Indeed, your self is the most stolid obstacle along said path, and you must sacrifice it to walk that way. Faith, too — at least the dogmatic versions thereof, must be released to fluidly travel. And if you choose to do so, you will be branded an infidel. And yet anyone who does so must be boldly told that your Love is purer Love; that your Love occupies a position more exalted than his or her religion can ever hope to occupy; that real Love has nothing to do with either faith or conviction, and everything to do with kindness and irrational sacrifice. For whomever sets his or her feet firmly in the abiding-life of true Love has per se completely transcended the confining bounds of mere belief and knowledge, and fully escaped the brittle shackles of mere dreams and desire.” ~ inspired by Attar
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