Day 082s: Honoring the next Hostel … (July 05, 2019)
Me not wanting to be any further financial burden on Mate,* and Mate not yet wanting to part ways, meant that we both intentionally headed for Viana’s parochial donativo in the center of town; a rest-stop that in truth provided me & my stated mission with a lukewarm reception at best, and yet a rest-stop that provided us a welcome place of rest nonetheless …
“It is an old custom that bears both honor & repetition, where men of both good-intention & goodwill have chosen to stud the land along pilgrimage routes with fine groves and clear wells for the general comfort of travelers, and also so that those from posterity while resting in the shade and refreshing themselves would think of their selfless generosity and be inspired – after their journey had ended and they had return homeward – to live similarly.” ~ inspired by Mukta Singh-Zocchi
*It is all fine & good to intentionally grant others the fluid opportunity to remember the Bliss that comes from selfless giving (eg provide a Peace Pilgrim with a warm shower & a hostel bed for the night), and yet once that giving has been empowered, it cannot be repeated too many times before it begins to morph into a feeling of duty or obligation on the giver’s part. I didn’t want Mate’s generosity to devolve into that relatively meaningless realm, and so was at this point intentionally accepting fewer & fewer gifts from him along The Way.
;