“Through my life, I choose to walk gently. I choose to treat all of life – the earth and all its sentient residents – with respect and with reverence. I choose to remove my shoes in the presence of holy ground — while remembering that all ground is holy. As much as possible, I choose […]
After yet another long day of walking, I finally made it into the town of Montredon, where — as usual — I first & foremost stopped by the local church to soak up some Soul-full solace, and offer a heartfelt thanks for being given yet another day of walking for humanity and caring for strangers […]
Located directly across the way from Montredon’s stunning church was the Relais St. Michel, a donativo hostel that I had (quite ironically) heard about back in Livinhac from Andrea — who had off-puttingly (and somewhat condescendingly) mentioned it as being “quite different.” Well, he certainly was correct, for different it certainly proved to be — […]
I woke up nice & early as usual this morning, put on a pot of coffee for my three fellow pilgrims, made Rosy a lovely “Peace Stone” (that I later left on the kitchen table as a farewell gift), and sat for while in peace — watching the swallows take flight and gracefully swoop around […]
My mood was soon darkened more than a bit by this particular visage: a small gathering of understandably upset mother cows who had been separated from their babies by their “owner” — a standard practice in the dairy industry, even on “local” “humane” “grass fed” “organic” farms like this one … 🙁 🙁 🙁 “I […]
Obstacles like this one were laughable to my pre-Walk self, and yet that was back when I didn’t understand how incredibly difficult it is to get around tree-blocked, steep-banked paths when your hips are frozen stiff (and you frankly weren’t that flexible to begin with) … 😀 “Just walk — don’t talk about walking. Don’t […]
I then walked up to and into the beautiful chapel of St. Madeleine, located on the outskirts of the township of Guirande — and graced by not only an exceptionally warm inner ambience, but also an exceptionally intriguing set of Roman frescoes* adorning its ancient walls … :O “Because I now send you out like […]
“And the pilgrim journeyed far, and he saw many strange & wonderful things on his travels. And while he was walking he learned many things as well – among them: that there are mysteries beyond the minds of mortal men; that the path one chooses (no matter how straight and wide and predictable it seems) […]
“Longer journeys of pilgrimage — like bolder acts of Love — allow us to remember who we were, back before the world told us who we should be.” ~ inspired by Charles Bukowski
“It’s not our mission to change or direct another person’s path. There is no wrong way or right way to walk through life. Rather, we each have our own unique life journey, and our common mission is to become a light of integrity and compassion and kindness — a light that brightens the destination of […]
And once again I passed by yet another herd of “happy” dairy cows, and once again I felt the disgust welling up inside of me. And yet I wondered: from whence came this super-strong and incredibly uncomfortable response? Yes, I knew full well that each & every one of the bovine individuals pictured was but […]
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