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), and we all reveled in each other’s joyous company while waiting for the various hostels in St. Jean to open their doors to that days arrivers … Marie, who I had chatted amicably a few days ago in Sauvelade, gave me a bag of almonds and I thoroughly enjoyed walking up and down the long row of seated pilgrims – some of whom were finishing their Walks and others who would be commencing their pilgrimages the next morning – and sharing my windfall with them all. I also felt greatly honored to have bonded so closely with Berend (pictured again below) – one of the very few pilgrims I met who was purely walking his trek for the betterment of others (in his case, as a charity drive for children’s cancer research) … I don’t know if I will see many of these beautiful people ever again, and yet I feel privileged to have shared the Way with them all, and wish them all nothing but the most profound Peace and the deepest Joy; the Peace & Joy that only come to those who go forth after their pilgrimages are complete and choose to bring the Love & Harmony they found along the way back into their everyday lives.

“My story might be over soon, and yet it’s not something to be sad about. As we count up the memories from one journey, we simply head off onto another. We remember those who went ahead and honor those who will follow after. And someday, we will all meet again – in vision or in person, out beyond the horizon.” ~ via Hiro Arikawa

Filed under: Peace Pilgrimage #02: Walking HOME (2019) by Scaughdt