The Monumento ao Peregrino at Alto de San Roque is a beautiful sculpture, located along the Camino about a half mail past the small town of Linares. The bronze sculpture, placed on The Way in 1993, was created by Galician sculptor José María Acuña and shows a medieval pilgrim steadfastly advancing along his pilgrimage despite […]
I then arrived in the tiny village of Hospital. Still in a state of high fatigue, low spirits, and steadily shooting pain, I smiled at the thought of resting for longer than awhile in this aptly named hamlet. And yet rest was neither offered nor summoned on that mist-free morning, and so onward I limped […]
And there, on the far outskirts of Hospital, I witnessed Wendy & William (mother & son) petting “Brutus” – possibly the saddest dog I had ever seen. The former pair chatted amicably with me for short while before departing, whereupon the latter decided that I needed to remain, repeatedly using his large morose body to […]
I limped slowly onward, past the small path-side sustenance stop at Alto de Poio (to avoid tempting any fellow pilgrims to impurely give to the pitiable out of pity) and paused briefly at my next Camino crossroads – this one offering a choice between the traditional route that headed up into the mountains and a […]
And then it became clear as well, through all the sobs & all the tears, that I was Doing Right as is; that I am in truth sacrificing it all for all my sentient brothers & sisters; that I may not be doing so perfectly and yet that I am doing so nonetheless; and that […]
My tears now dried and my resolve renewed, I continued onward along a trail seemingly long-forgotten; a trail quite clearly abandoned in favor of the far easier path that had been recently carved out down below. And indeed an unsurprising “proof” of the same came in the form of a sign that had been placed […]
Shortly after descending the mountain trial & rejoining the primary path, I came upon a tiny rest-stop in the just-as-tiny hamlet of Fonfria. Even though I had transcended the majority of my earlier malaise-riddled mentality, I was still in quite a bit of pain and was still feeling low of both spirit and energy when […]
I don’t know how long I would have remained by the roadside in Fonfria had Hannah from Japan not happened along and sweetly offered me some encouraging words and her last apple; both selfless gifts that were my cue to get off my butt, take some Ibuprofen, and keep steadily making my way – one […]
“As a dreamer or a sage, you will ever be ridiculed and rejected. And yet your detractors are what give your walk vector – your denigrators those who give your path power & purpose. So remember to thank your persecutors for re-minding you of the majesty of your Path. For without darkness, how can shine […]
“It is acceptable to have a specific end to journey toward; and yet it is the chosen journey that matters, in the end.” ~ via Ursula K. Le Guin
“The fear of death ultimately flows from a fear of life. Show me a man who has lived fully and I will show you a man who is prepared to die at any moment.” ~ via Mark Twain “Many wish that particular passings would not arrive at whim or will, and yet the wise never […]
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