Day 105c: Encouraging the Courage … (July 28, 2019)
I continued on & on, walking ever slower & slower as the pain in my back continued to intensify – eventually shooting down my left leg with every step taken (and this, despite having already taken 800mp of Ibuprofen that morning!) … Almost needless to say, things were not looking good for yours truly and I was soon thereafter at a loss as to what to do about this now-debilitating challenge. And yet this was precisely the eventuality (probability, actually) for which I had prepared, for the Walk had been intentionally constructed to offer me neither the ability to “stop & heal” nor the fluid option of “turning back for help.” There was only one thing available to me, and that was to walk – however slowly. And there was only direction in which I could do so, and that was ever onward. And so that is what I did, eventually making it to the tiny town of Hermedesuxo, where my discomfort grew so great that lowered myself to the sidewalk to rest my back for awhile. I was pretty distraught at this point and was considering simply laying there for the rest of the day and trying to set out again the next morning, when Damian from Poland (who had kindly engaged me on several previous stages of my Walk) sauntered by and stopped to see if I was OK. He stayed with me for a few minutes, empathically listening to my sincere concerns about this particular portion of my Journey, and then he gave me the nectarine he had been saving for his breakfast, offered me more than a few heartfelt words of encouragement, and – like any dutiful angel well-met – continued on his way (after inspiring me to continue on my own) …
“Let’s ever remember to always invite one another in – for if we do so, then maybe we can begin to fear less, and maybe we will fewer false & misleading assumptions, and maybe we can let go of the biases and stereotypes that unnecessarily divide us, and maybe we can begin to fully embrace the many more important ways we are all actually the same. We need to remember that it’s not about being perfect and it’s not about where we get ourselves to in the end. There’s a profound power in allowing ourselves – our True Selves — to be seen and known and heard; a profound power in owning our unique stories, in honoring the unique stores of others, and in using the former to encourage the latter’s unfolding … Remain ever open to whatever is happening and you will surf the same and succeed. Remain ever open to all with whom you travel and you will immerse yourself in their joys & sorrows — and thereby come to know Love.” ~ inspired by Sarah Pullen
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