Early Sunday afternoon here. I went to two different church services this AM. Catherine and I did the eight o’clock as usual and then I trekked to the Methodists to hear the testimony sermon given by one of my Bible Guys. OK, that was totally enough church for one day.
Yesterday we published Cris’s great thoughts on walking the Camino. Gracias amiga! Maybe I will pick out three things that jump out at me and touch on them. I know that different ones will interest you and maybe throw a comment at us in the next few days.
“As a Pilgrim I know there are yellow arrows everywhere the point is to be attentive enough to see them (even in the Camino where the arrows were painted, we lost the path several times).” This is a good reminder that there are yellow arrows for us now we just have to be quiet enough, or perceptive enough or bold enough to see them. In our hustle bustle mode that we can get in all too easily we must miss all sorts of helpful arrows.
“You have to wish the Camino to be long.” Whoa Cris! Like you don’t want to come out of the oven half baked? OK, OK. I thought they were all plenty long. Or is it that you want it to continue indefinitely in a symbolic way.
“The answers come when it is time to understand them.” This is such a great one that maybe explains why I personally got so much out of the Camino because I did all the preparation that I did. Walking the 500 miles on Phil’s Camino reading The Everyday Camino With Annie had me in the zone to start with. Gracias Annie!
“There is no road, the road is made by walking.” This may be the best explanation of Phil’s Camino yet! There is nothing there until you give it importance. I like it.
Well, I probably didn’t do Cris’s lovely writing justice there. But perhaps we have just begun. OK, thanks for being with us in our journey. Sunday kind of love, Felipe.
Hola Felipe,
Gracias for your generosity… I have the feeling we are starting a long conversation here… but probably, I would say that defining ourselves as pilgrims is understanding that we are here passing by, going from one place to another, walking the landscape we have encountered, yes, at times wishing deeply it to be different, and at other times, making the most of it even if that means feeling content with the fact that at least, we are moving to somewhere. And honestly, even in the ugliest landscapes I had to walk in, since I see life as a pilgrim, I see something nice and something to be grateful about. Most of the times, are the fellow pilgrims. And there is not a second in which I stop being grateful for what they share with me, for what they teach me, etc.
So, indeed, we wish our lives to be long… (maybe I have this idea thinking of my mother, who died when she was younger than I am today), but I think it also comes from the fact that if you find beauty in what surrounds you, and know you are loved and you know that the landscape will change, then wishing for a long Camino is a natural wish.
But this is not mine, this is from Constantino Kavafis, from his poem ITHACA, he said it before us, and he wrote it beautifully before us, for me it was just a matter of trusting that I had to set out on my journey, despite the Lestrygonians and the Cyclops…
Big hugs!
Cris
ITHACA
When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon — do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up before you.
Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many,
…
Thanks Cris, always great! Gracias. I am running out of time right now but will put some of this on the blog tomorrow. See ya, Felipe.x