Despite the growing dusty heat, the walking this day proved to be smooth & relatively uneventful – from Sahagun, to the swallow-graced skies of Calzaada, to the then simmering early-afternoon streets of Bercianos. Some metaphorical foreshadowing came on the outskirts of the latter, where a young pilgrim pointed at me and unabashedly announced “Hey! Isn’t that the guy?” before she and her small gaggle of compatriot pilgrims swiftly (and seemingly nervously) scurried into the safer shadowed confines of their chosen hostel. The rest of the village’s refuges emanated a similarly off-putting vibe – possibly due to the fact that I had arrived at the beginning moments of that days’ Spanish siesta, so I asked some still-out-&-about locals for directions to a water fountain, and found the same in short order. I paused there to sit awhile in the shade and drink the font’s cool waters and re-tape the soles of my shoes, and then headed back out into the heart of The Way (and the heat if the day).

“Humility is a perfect quietness of heart. It is to expect nothing to be done for oneself, to wonder at nothing that is done to oneself, and to feel nothing done against oneself. It is to be at peace when no one offers praise or assistance, and to be at a peace whenever one is wrongfully feared or blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Divine no matter where one happens to be. It is to ever remember that life is about loving and not being loved – about giving and not receiving – about honoring others without being honored. And as such it is living in a state of deep calmness, even when all around and above is trouble or storm.” ~ inspired byAndrew Murray

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