Day 080w: To Love the neighboring Neighbor … (July 03, 2019)
My relatively rapid walking tempo meant that I ended up covering more miles in a standard walking day than most pilgrims ever mustered, which in turn meant that I found myself steadily outdistancing the “pilgrim families” I continually met along The Way – leaving one well-met group of long-lost & newfound Friends behind to inevitably “catch up” to other groups of pilgrims who had started their own pilgrimages several days before my own. And this proved to be as odd as it was effective – odd in that I was repeatedly exposed to dramatically different “vibe-collectives” along The Way (with different collections of similarly-paced pilgrims seeming to somehow group themselves according to their pilgrimage objectives &/or personality types), and effective in that the more people with whom I cam into contact, the more people could be exposed to The Way of Selfless Kindness I was trying to share & inspire. Of course, sometimes a particular new gaggle of walkers exuded an air that in no way resonated with the latter, and such was the case on this day in Puente la Reina – and so it was that I found myself soon leaving the hostel that evening and heading to soak up the goldened splendors of the town’s largest cathedral …
“Sin and love are exact opposites, with Love being a courageous benefiting of others at the expense of one’s self and sin being a fear-based benefiting of self at the expense of others. That said, Love does not require a continual giving to those who openly reject or ignore or denigrate the same. Yes, we are always to err on the side of giving again rather than abandoning any such ‘enemy.’ And yet once it becomes clear that our Love is bearing neither the good fruits of Joy or Peace, it is always our summons to look to others nearby and then offer them the same. Of course, while doing so for the benefit of those others – any others – is always virtuously spiritual, doing so to avoid the discomfort of rejection is ever a sin. Remember this, and remember to choose wisely.” ~ inspired by Frank Viola
“My words are easy to understand and easy to perform, and yet very few under Heaven knows them or practices them … I truth, those who know me are few; and those who abuse me are honored. And so it is therefore that the wise ones often wear rough clothing, and oft hold the Jewels of Truth in their Hearts.” ~ via Lao Tsu (Tao Te Ching #70)
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