Shortly thereafter, a few other pilgrims straggled into the refuge, loosely accompanied by Victor & Eva (pictured) – two homeless (and quite hungry) travelers who weren’t traditional pilgrims per se, but who had rather chosen to live nomadically along the Camino, making its varied benches & huts & donativos their ever-scintillating home(s) for every night. And tonight their chosen home happened to be here with me in Tardajos. The rest of the pilgrims then wandered into town to find various restaurants at which to eat, and we three penniless travelers remained behind to be both humbly & graciously treated to a sumptuous mendicant’s meal of white rice, white bread, and green salad. Our pronounced language barrier (and Victor & Eva’s relatively obvious mental/cognitive challenges) kept us from communing more fully, and yet kindness is always the best language to employ, and – as usual – kindness (in this case gentle smiles mixed with offering them a sizable portion of my share of our shared meal) said more than enough …

“Because we have been conditioned to feel ourselves as separate from the world in which we live, we have also grown to feel quite alone in it. And that sense of loneliness and isolation not only makes us feel regularly depressed and miserable, but it also causes us to know a base anxiety and fear for the world and everyone in it. And because of this inherent fear, we put up all kinds of barriers to protect us from the same – barriers that we have created to keep us safe, but that actually end up making us feel more alone, more miserable, and more afraid; preventing us from being our natural caring selves, preventing us from powerfully connecting with others, and thus preventing us from ever knowing a truly meaningful life.” ~ via Joseph P. Kauffman

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