I walked onward quite smoothly all the way to the little village of Mas de Dalat, where I came upon the local Gite d’Etape. It seemed like an inviting place and my legs were softly asking for a brief rest in the shade, so I decided to walk over to the hostel’s open doorway and peer inside. And no sooner did I do so than I saw a jovial group of pilgrims sitting around a large table and sharing breakfast together in preparation for their own journeys that lay ahead. And who should be a member of this festive band of wanderers than Gilles, the kind man I had met 10 days prior while Terri the dog & I were on our way to St. Alban … :O

Well, almost needless to say, I was overjoyed at this serendipitous reunion – almost as overjoyed as Gilles was shocked. I announced his name with glee and was in the process of barging in to give him a hug when the proprietor of the establishment – who had not even noticed yet – loudly (and quite brashly) told me to keep my dirty shoes out of his kitchen ( :O ) … Fair enough, I thought, and apologized sincerely while taking the few steps necessary to retreat back to the patio outside. Gilles then mentioned that he had just been telling his newfound friends about me and my Walk, and yet his demeanor was oddly uncomfortable, if not downright distanced.

In truth, Gilles’ behavior during the entire encounter was more than a bit odd, to say the least. We had bonded deeply during our brief walk together just those few days previously, and he had been not only one of the three pilgrims I had hoped to see again on The Way*, but was also one of the very few pilgrims who had taken it upon himself to act as an active megaphone for my Walk – passionately translating the tale of the same to French & English speakers alike. It made no sense that he would be so withdrawn during what would indeed turn out to be the last time we would ever see each other, and yet humility and compassion kicked in almost immediately thereafter, and I returned to simply being thrilled to see him myself – and thankful that we had met at all … 🙂

The other pilgrims present were intrigued with my Walk, of course – none more so than Karen, an American musician from Massachusetts who proceeded to join me on the patio, to engage me in an emotionally intense conversation about the need for us all to replace “political progress” with acts of community service & radical Kindness, to offer me a portion of her own walking rations for the day, and then to give me a huge farewell hug as I headed back out onto The Way … 😀

“The longer I travel and the more people I meet, the more apparent it becomes that every single person will come and go in your life, and that every single person fulfills a most important need – the need for the opportunity to deeply care. Not to care as a messiah or a savior, but rather to simply reach out and be a light that shines – illuminating your own path clearly, and thereby illuminating others’ path as well. It is entirely up to those others to open their eyes and allow themselves to see your shining, of course, and even if you burn like the Sun some will close their lids and turn away. And yet our job is not to see for them. Our job is merely light their way. It is not our job is to save them, but rather our privilege to Love them without hesitation or condition. We don’t get to pick and choose who we meet and we don’t get to decide how much impact we will have on their lives. All we can do is open ourselves up completely to them when they arrive, give them everything we have to give while they’re there, and be grateful for those meetings whenever they depart. Life is too short to not burn like the Sun, my friends. So shine brightly on everyone you meet.” ~ inspired by Joseph Pascucci

*The other two were Remi – who I had walked with on that same St. Alban day, and Hartmut – with whom I had become fast Friends in Le Puy some days earlier.

Filed under: Peace Pilgrimage #02: Walking HOME (2019) by Scaughdt