“To live well is to learn the world’s language, and by language I don’t mean the prevalent form of communication in one’s home or region. I mean the language of the rocks and the animals and all growing things. I mean the language you don’t hear just with your ears – the language of interconnectedness; […]
A smaller group of us fluidly made it to the town of Redicilla del Camino, where most stopped at a wayside cafe for more typical refreshment, while I entered the nearby church for Refreshment of a different sort … “I believe that the currently known Universe came into being around 14 billion years ago and […]
“The desire to set forth on foot is also a desire to be whole; to walk until you no longer know where you are, and in so doing come to fully understand who you are. Walking a longer route has you inevitably & intimately becoming the single point of intersection for all the lines drawn […]
I had left Redecilla well before any of my compatriots, and had flowed smoothly thereafter at my own unhindered tempo through the villages of Castildelgado, Viloria de Rioja, and Villamayor del Rio, before easily arriving in the larger hamlet of Belorado and its blessedly open Santa Maria church … “I treasure the thick silence of […]
If you choose to stay awake & aware, you will see just as much wonderment and beauty while departing a place or city, as you ever notices when first entering the same … “Let us ever celebrate the joy and the sorrow and the wonder and the mystery of all that we see, so that […]
“It is incessantly tempting to bind ourselves to the familiar comforts of the way things are or have always been, and yet our truest fulfillment can only be rediscovered by choosing to transcend the unpredictable and encounter the unknown. For, in the most potent twist of irony, we can only truly serve ourselves while choosing […]
It was a strange series of happenstances on this particular pilgrimage that had me meeting so much difference (& even disappointment at) the small handful of “special places” which I had eagerly longed to see again* – and the village of Tosantos proved to be no exception. The donativo refuge here had served as one […]
“The road knows you & believes in you, and it will listen to you & carry you too – if you but dare to set forth upon it boldly.” ~ inspired by Foster Kinn
I would have stopped & rested for a bit here in the town of Villambistra, and yet the church itself was closed and the benches outside were already overladen with fellow travelers, and so I contented myself with exchanging a few heartfelt pleasantries with the latter, and peacefully continued along my way … “The test […]
Many of the churches I encountered along the Spanish portion of my Walk (especially anytime during the seemingly undefined block of time set aside for mid-afternoon siesta) were closed, and yet thankfully – like here in Espinosa del Camino – there proved to be regular exceptions … “The most important part of any religion isn’t […]
“A flower blooming in the desert proves to the world that adversity, no matter how great, can always be overcome … Just as important to remember: flowers don’t worry about how they’re going to bloom. They just open up and turn toward the light and offer their beauty to everyone … Some folks remind you […]
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