“Among the great & noble struggles of man there is also the mighty conflict between the fantasy of Home and the fantasy of Away; the dream of roots countered by the mirage of the journey … And this tugging tension belies an even deeper Truth: that we ultimately have no control over how our stories […]
I was flowing steadily and swiftly on the walk to day, and cruised (despite the at time oppressive heat) into the town of Maritein – where I paused to rest in the cooler confines of the local church … Jean Marc has arrived here as well, and we share a calm-yet-ultimately-meaningless conversation about politics; with […]
It came time to depart and head back out onto the Road, and yet before I did so I couldn’t help wondering about how serene – almost joyful, even – Jesus’ face appeared on the cross herein … “A priest once quoted to me the Roman saying that a religion is dead when the priests […]
“There are people who believe they know where they want to be, and who also have a clearly marked roadmap in their mind about how to get there. And yet something always stops them from ever arriving. They either keep waiting for better circumstances, or simply lack the courage to give up the comfort of […]
I made it thereafter into the town of Navarrenx, and – as was my usual custom – proceeded first and foremost to the local church; to give thanks for having made it this far and to re-vow my resolve to continue onward for the cause of Peace … What was especially interesting about this particular […]
Jean Marc is well met in town and fluidly fulfills his wonderful offer of lodging and sustenance. Dinner – a mostly vegan buffet; 100% vegan for me, of course – proved to be the finest meal I shared on my entire Walk, and the accommodations at the local Gite National – despite being somewhat drab […]
I slept wonderfully the previous night (though I apparently did snore quite loudly – the first time the same had been mentioned to me on any of my pilgrimages) and woke feeling fully refreshed. Enjoyed a warm-up shower and some orange juice that a previous pilgrim had left behind, and then headed with Jean Marc […]
Jean Marc and I paused outside Navarrenx’s city walls – quite near to this quite remarkable sculpture – to chat a bit and to eat our bread together before the day’s walk commenced … “To truly live is to understand that without the journey the destination is nothing more than a task rigorously completed rather […]
Jean Marc was ready to head out while I was still ensconced in the beauty of the place, so once again we smoothly parted ways — as often proves to be the case for any group or pairing of pilgrims who has given themselves deeply to the scintillating & ever-changing summons of The Way … […]
And so it was that I remained for more than awhile on that particular bench; fully at Peace with it all – slowly relishing every bite of my uber-fresh multi-grain bread, with a smile on my face as I watched a flight of swallows swooping gracefully under & about the bridge they called their Home […]
“In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagvat Geeta, since whose composition many years of the gods have elapsed, and in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem adolescent and trivial. I lay down the book and go to my well for water, and […]
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