For those who have followed this Walk from the beginning – and for those who still remember the same, I had decided to carry three stones for almost the entirety of the Journey; one to place in the three primary cathedrals along the route – the first in the church at Le Pu en Velay, […]
“Any sense of mystical perception is remarkably consistent in all ages and places. All phenomena are processes and interconnections, and everything is in constant flux. So when have our mind screens knocked away and see that there is no real edge to anything, that in the endless interpenetration of the universe, a molecular flow, a […]
It was truly joyous to see so many of my newfound friends so happy to have completed this portion of their own pilgrimages (most of the walkers underway in southern France make St. Jean their end destination – at least until they can return at a later date to continue their various treks to Santiago), […]
Jean Marc had begged me to let him pay for yet another hostel stay here in St. Jean, and I had almost reluctantly agreed, on the sole condition that this would be the very last time he would be allowed to do so. After all, the true power of any peace pilgrimage comes from walking […]
True to form, I once again chose to be kind to my fellow pilgrims* and silently rise from my comfortable bed in order to bunk down in the common room sofa downstairs … “Much like a dog, the truly Noble Man has but one aim in life: to bestow his heart fully upon all he […]
I woke from a fine sleep and enjoyed some lively banter at the breakfast table with several fellow pilgrims before offering up the standard bevy of heartfelt farewells and heading back out onto The Road. And yet St. Jean Pied du Port wasn’t too keen on letting us flow onward that easily, as Jean Marc […]
It was somehow blessedly appropriate that I had this extra nugget of sedentary solitude before commencing the portion of the Path that I had already tread once before – almost as if The Way was giving me an extra chance to sit & soak it all in before setting forth once more; almost as if […]
Jean Marc returns, this time with proper footwear having been donned, and we set out together into this new day’s station. It is a lovely, misty morning, and I soon affirm a the truth that had been gnawing on my conscience for several days prior – namely, that it is often a greater gift to […]
“Often in less modern times, we focused a great deal of thought & effort upon rituals of return to the human condition. Seeking enlightenment or the Promised Land or the way home, a man would go or be forced to go into the wilderness, measure himself against the Creation, recognize finally his true place within […]
There is an odd mix of cool temperatures and higher humidity as we pilgrims flow-amble our way up the Pyrenees into its cozy blanket of thick fog; easily feeling enveloped & at One with everyone & indeed everything around me. And, in one of the many times I was to be called to reflect back […]
Tempo is a funny thing: the deeper one immerses into where one is in any moment, the less one’s velocity becomes recognizable. One no longer walks slowly or quickly, or smoothly or ploddingly. One simply downshifts into the moment and easily harmonizes the movement of one’s body with its surroundings. In these times the pilgrim […]
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