2019 … The brightest Light in the blackest Pearl
Just a few days later I entered the town of Azqueta, and was deeply blessed to spend that night in La Perla Negra (The Black Pearl) – a cozy & loci g hostel that proved to as much a rarity as its namesake. For rarely indeed have I ever known such gentle warmth and sincere kindness on any of my travels before or since. Helena, the proprietress of the establishment, looked befuddled when she first heard about the hows and the whys of my Walk, and yet she accepted me into her refuge home without any hesitation thereafter, and treated me like a deeply honored guest for the entirety of my stay. And the same exuberant kindness she displayed towards me was felt from all the other pilgrims present that evening as well – not only Mate from Hungary, but Edward from Australia, Thomas from Sweden, Jasmin from Switzerland, Marianna from Poland, Concepcion from Spain, Nina from Germany, & Fiona from Ireland as well. That night I helped Helena & her primary hospitalera Gloria serve everyone dinner, and then we all bonded together – becoming instant Friends in an almost hobbitesque manner – well into the evening …
“The event of falling in love is nothing compared to the actuality of Love itself; an emotional union of such a profound nature that we are right to reject as intolerable the idea that it should be in any way transitory. In one high bound Love – real Love; the Love of vocational Partners &/or true Friends – overleaps the massiveness of any & all selfhood. It makes appetite itself altruistic, tossing personal happiness aside as a mere triviality and planting the interests of the other in the center of our being. Spontaneously and without effort it inspires us to fulfill the highest Law of Being by in-couraging us to quite literally love our neighbors as ourselves – even if those neighbors would otherwise be judged as enemies. This real Love is an image, a foretaste if one will, of what we must become to all if we are to in truth become what we have been called to be – selflessly caring Children of the Divine Himself.” ~ inspired by C.S. Lewis
“Yes, it is true that we all have our own road to walk, whether rocky or curving or straight or smooth. And yet what good is a road trod alone? For it is only when we flow and intersect with other roads that our own road becomes defined. It is when road meets road that we get direction, and are blessed with the choice to cross into another life and grace it with love.” ~ via Anthony Liccione
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