Hi. I sparked a lot of comments over the last few days and Cris from Buenos Aires came in with a doozy that I have reprinted here below. But I have wanted to add to it. Thanks for coming.
Yes, of course, beauty there was a key element in the chemistry of the Camino. And there wasn’t just some but a lot! I remember being over loaded with beauty. Too much! So much beauty that I didn’t know where to put it all. Yes, thank you for the reminder.
Hola Felipe,
I think yesterday all of us were inspired, and inspired by your post too. Today’s post is another one… today’s one can open a large discussion… The vision of God is as wide as the vision of the Camino… isn’t it? Each of us has our own. The Camino, funny enough, helped to find mine: for me, the Camino was Beauty.
And then, in John O’Donohue’s words, I found: “God is Beauty”. And then, listening to a recorded radio show, when he was asked what was Beauty, he said “Beauty is the presence in which we become more alive”.
One year after arriving to Santiago (and before having read that book of John O’Donohue), I wrote:
“One year ago I arrived to Santiago de Compostela, after walking without interruption for 34 days. I can summarize the experience with one word: “Beauty”.
I learned about the beauty in the world, the beauty in the people, the beauty in the souls, the beauty in the hearts when they open or when they are closed, the beauty in the art of listening and speaking and being listened, the beauty of friendship, the beauty in sharing, the beauty of what is painful and poigneant and yet beautiful because it is what gathered many of us, the beauty of love, the beauty of being all human beings in this planet: ones receiving, others giving, ones looking for shelter, others waiting for us. Certainly one of the most humbling experiences of my life.”
The Jesuits (and Pope Francis!!!) philosophy is “finding God in all things”.
Effortlessly then, all three Words (with capital W -Beauty, Camino, God-) are connected.
BCG hugs,
Cris
Oh, I have to walk in a minute. Be back! OK, back and dried out. Catherine y Dana came and we walked in the downpour. It was fun in a Camino kind of way. We always seem to have a good time no matter.
Back to the blog. I remember spending a lot of time on this in my writing back when I just got back from Spain. Someone sometime came up with the notion that God has three main attributes: beauty, truth and goodness. And each is a pathway and you can get closer to God by following one. Personally with my sensibilities the beauty path seems the easiest and sometimes it seems sort of unfair that it is so easy. That is my own take and perhaps others find goodness or searching for the truth to be easier.
Well, we are not going to figure it out all in one day. Hehe, think that was a joke. Best to you, love, Felipe.
Hola, Felipe!
What a fine flock has gathered round you ol’ buddy! Chris from BA certainly is the embodiment of Camino Chemistry, and such a lovely (no pun intended) post she provided. Thanks for the highlighting.
Winter is reminding us that it is still firmly in control here in the heartland. Temps dropped from 48 to 25 in an hour, accompanied by wind, snow, rain and ice. I was happy to be able to retreat to the nice warm house and just stay there.
SF,
PFJ
PFJ ~ a fine flock, I always knew we were a little bird brained around here. Yes, Cris is a jewel. She came into the blog by hearing about it on FaceBook. So, we are gathering talent and inspiration from places beyond our face to face contacts. Well you heard because of the Catholic magazine from Ken. Anyway, we are gathering. At a certain point we start creating our own weather, like Mt Rainer. Speaking of weather, keep warm there buddy. PFF
Gracias Felipe! And Gracias to PFJ!
Thank you for considering my thoughts were to share. I posted them in my facebook 1 year after as it took me at least 1 year to process that what kept me overwhelmed during the Camino was Beauty. There was Goodness too, and oh my, so abundantly! The generosity of the fellow pilgrims and hospitaleros, in the people’s stories, in the sharing,… but for me, I saw that Goodness as Beauty. And Gratitude, that was the other feeling: ever present Gratitude.
I wondered how was that I was overwhelmed with Gratitude and this sense of Beauty in the world when I was so tired, and ached, and sleeping in packed bedrooms and with snoring neighbors… and I don’t have a clue, I just accepted them. Last year I listened to a Ted-Talk from Br. Steindl-Rast where he says: “Can you be grateful for everything? No, not for everything, but in every moment.” Maybe that explains it.
I think we are simpler than we think we are.
Camino love,
Cris
Hola, Cris!
“I think we are simpler than we think we are.” Farmer Felipe and Farmer John: you’ve nailed us, Dear. 🙂
Hehe
Cris ~ I really hope we are simpler than we think we are. Hope we can think less and be more. Glad that you are getting to know Pilgrim Farmer John, a guy with a big heart. Thanks for your great contributions. Felipe.x
Good morning Phil!
I have loved following your blog. I consider myself a Caminohead, though I have never walked in Spain. To me, the Camino is the spiritual inner journey of walking through this life as a “pilgrim among pilgrims.” We are all trying to find “our way” back home… it is a faith walk of trust, surrender and community.
I wrote to you way back in October about my friend Betsy that was walking in Spain at the time. She had lost her son Jack in October 2016, and was walking by herself, spreading his ashes along “The Way” She actually completed her walk and arrived in Santiago on the one-year anniversary of Jack’s passing.
I do not know how to insert that picture in this format, but I will send you an email of Betsy’s triumph entrance into Santiago!
I met with Betsy in December, and she shared some of her experience. One incident was incredible, and I would like to share it with you and please feel free to share it with all those who read your blog, if you want.
Betsy talked about that markers along “the way”… the yellow arrows and the shells that guide the walkers to keep on the trail. One day, she noticed that she had not see a marker for quite a while, and had to re-trace her steps to where she had last seen the sign. This can be costly when you are keeping a pace of 13 miles (or so) a day. As she was walking back, she met a young man from Australia.
While they walked together, she told him that she thought she was off track, and was looking for the markers to guide her back. He then showed her that there was a Camino App that could be downloaded to her smartphone. He helped her set that up, and she found that it GPS’ed her location, so that she could never get lost again! When she thanked him and asked his name, he replied “My name is Jack, just like your son.!” She was amazed! Her story gave me goosebumps once again.
We talked about that experience and how there are no coincidences in life!
She feels strongly that Jack from Australia was a Guardian angel along her way! She also talked about having to re-charge her smartphone each day to stay connected to the source.
Kind of like we have to stay connected to “our source” (God) each day to keep our batteries charged and stay on course!
Thank you for all of your wisdom and insight; I include your blog as a part of “keeping grounded” when I pray each day.
Maureen Renden
Maureen ~ hi, haven’t heard from you in a while. Glad that you are pilgriming along still. That was a great Camino story from Betsy. People that have been there, done that, can totally relate to that. Things happened that were outside the ordinary, outside of past experience. Things were very connected. I think that I will put that up on the blog today. I have to write in a minute. Take cake for now, hope to see you at some point. Felipe.x