I was exceptionally tired this afternoon for whatever reason(s), so I intentionally experimented with “doze-walking” between Camponaraya and the town of Cacabelos – literally choosing to close my eyes and sleep in 10-15 second bursts while walk-bumbling down The Way. And this tactic actually worked with a surprising measure of success, having me not only feeling inwardly amused at the same but also feeling somewhat refreshed therefrom as I smile-stumbled into the latter village and made my way into the cool and compassion-rich confines of its Paroquia de Santa Maria church …

“To have real faith – a faith that is both potent & transformative – is to embody courage. It is not the mere ability to take a risk – every conscious being has that. Rather, it is the willingness to take the same; not the mere readiness to accept pain or disappointment or failure or even death, but rather the willingness to accept them if they arrive as a result. In truth, whoever insists on safety and security as primary conditions of life cannot know real faith. Indeed, whoever shuts himself off within a system of defense, where distance and possession are his means of comfort, actually makes himself a prisoner. To know Love we must choose to love, and to love we need courage; the courage to recognize that certain higher values are of ultimate concern — and then to take a Grand Leap directly into the same – to stake everything on these same values, come Hell or highest waters … And so it is that in understanding these things fully that I can truly & freely and fully Let Go. For I no longer have any need for any other faith than my belief in the rightness of kindness, and I am so absorbed in the wonders thereof that I can no longer ponder either heaven or the angels.” ~ inspired by Erich Fromm & Pearl S. Buck

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