I can’t tell you how happy I am for getting through the night so easily. Last chemo cycle I had a very hard time, the worst that I ever had, but this time I was passed over. So the morning looks more beautiful. We are getting a grip on the side effects of the new chemical treatment and that is very heartening. I want to talk about that soon since I want to thank some folks for helping me.
You will remember that several days ago we were posed with the question, “What have you figured out?” In other words, have we come to any realizations or conclusions about the work that we have been doing here at Phil’s Camino and Caminoheads blog. Has there been any product produced or treasure uncovered? Buenos Aires Cris came in with a comment yesterday that is relevant and extremely penetrating. It my seem highly personal which maybe all good things are. Thanks Cris:
Hola Felipe
What a great straightforward post! What have we figured out?… That is a great question, and if I speak for myself, being part of this “salon” in the French sense of the word :D, I think for me, it has been a lot. It brought me back to the post I wrote one year after I walked the 2 weeks, back in 2011. But “this conversation” we are having here, deepens day after day, my own humanity. I am learning how to be human, by coming by and read the posts and the comments of my fellow pilgrims. And I am totally honest when saying this.
Probably, there are 3 big things that I “figured out” with you all here:
1) “Once you are a Pilgrim, you are forever a Pilgrim”. There are certainly other things that may change as we walk, but if we walk as we learned in the Camino, we may be at times lost, but most likely we will continue to be pilgrims. Being a Pilgrim is a blessed difficult to forget or dismiss.
2) “The fellow pilgrims are a treasure”. You become part of a Family; the “Family of Pilgrims”, because you shared the pilgrimage. And the secret is in the word “share”, and it is difficult to “dismiss” that part of the sharing thing… First you share the path, the albergue, the showers, then you start sharing the food, the “pilgrim’s gadgets” such as the poles, or the guide; after a bit, the conversation, the ear, the words, soon it become the heart and the soul, and prayers, and thoughts, follow too, and I can continue. Fellow pilgrims have shared their homes and families with me, and I have had the fortune to do the same; just as an example that the treasure is not exhausted or confined to the Camino, it rather starts there.
3) “No matter what or how, we are all connected”. I think about you and I: your cancer, the Avastin, my work, Genentech; your admiration and interest in Pope Francis, me being from Argentina; the purpose of my trip to Ireland, and its connection to Catherine and Dana; and we could continue with “facts”. But I think we also figured out that “feelings” and “words” connect us… I am thinking when we talked about “Beauty”, or “Goodness”, or “Presence”… or when we feel we learn from each other… and mainly when we actively feel we CARE for each other.
I, myself, figured out quite a few things in this “salon”, this is why I am grateful to you and to all of you, for teaching me and helping me to be more human.
Hope I did not miss the point here!
Understanding love,
Cris
Wow, as in wow! I am so grateful for that kind of insight and the work it took to craft that so beautifully. You are so appreciated Cris.
Well, time for me to go. My Rebecca is making her world famous mac and cheese tonight for the family. Have to finish up my tax prep. A February day here. Love, Felipe.
Hola Felipe, and Cris!
I have an affinity for ballad singers, and one of my favorites, now sadly deceased, was Don Williams. I often wistfully remarked in the many years of listening to him; “If I could sing like Don Williams, I would”.
I now feel the same way about Pilgrim Cris; “If I could write like Cris, I would”.
What lovely and truth-laden words she gives to all of us. What we share most of all is the Pilgrim Heart.
SF,
PFJ
Juan ~ glad you are feeling good enough to give us some Heartland thoughts. Yes, exceptional writing in from our amiga. Caminoheads stock went way up today. Aside from that excitement I find her ideas sound and that gives me a certain clarity, always good. Hello to you and the family. Love you man, Felipe.
Phil, I think you captured it best in WOW!! I agree that Cris’ words (and yours, too, of course) evoke nothing less than WOW! I am so uplifted and blessed by your sharings. Buen Camino, Felipe. . . Jim
Jim ~ all very good, right? She captured a lot of the situation. But remember there is more. There is always more. Help with your own ideas. Thanks, Felipe.
Awww you all Pilgrims are so generous! Thank you!! Or I should say GRACIAS! English, as you know, is not my first language, so that you feel this is nicely written is even more touching!
When I left in 2011 to the Camino, that first time for only 11 days to walk from Leon, I was worried I would have nothing to say, nothing to share, nothing interesting. The Camino walking to Santiago opened a new door from where to continue walking, but the Camino continued after Santiago and is actually what I hope I walk every day even if I am lost or sitting at my desk, with you all who are walking me me and share and come to this salon 🙂 instead of the albergue at night. So when often I speak in present time about the Camino, or about walking, I am talking about my current life and not a nostalgic of what happened in Spain and even I feel I “am” a pilgrim if I walk from my bedroom to my home office.
Gracias Peregrinos!
Un beso,
Cris
PFJ, Yeahhhh!!!! Great to see you recovering!!!!
Cris ~ I am so happy for you, for us. I think we squirted up to a higher level in the last few days. You hit it directly when you said that it isn’t nostalgia that we are involved in but with walking in the present moment wherever we find ourselves. Thanks, Felipe.x
What Have We Figured Out?
Good Morning Felipe,
I really enjoyed reading Cris’ post (Our Bureau Chief from Buenos Aries) about what we have figured out here at Caminoheads. It was such a thoughtful and well articulated response: once a pilgrim, forever a pilgrim; fellow pilgrims are a treasure; we are all connected. I am not sure how to add anything more without being repetitive. However, in the spirit of on-going dialogue, I will give it a go. Think of it as another lap around the trail.
Ever since the Camino it is easier to see everyone I meet, and know as a pilgrim, each carrying their own particular load. This point of view makes it easier to extend grace to people and situations that once before might have annoyed, confused or frightened me.
On the Camino it seemed effortless to simply be in the present moment. Here, there are so many distractions, competing engagements, never-ending “to do” lists that pre-occupy my mind. Walking with you reminds me to let all the other stuff go and come fully present. Like the other day when it was so cold and windy and we found that the little corner of field bathed in sunlight and protected from the wind by the hawthorn hedge. That bit of winter warmth was so welcome. We stopped talking and just stood in wonder and grateful silence for what seemed a long time. And then we just started walking again. Be open to miracles, even the tiniest ones.
Finally, I am growing ever more aware of the impermanence of things: relationships, situations, material goods, health, vitality – nothing escapes its eventual passing, and creation is on-going. Like the changing of the seasons, good fortune can slip into ruin, and ruin can be dissolved by kindness and suddenly appear as good fortune once again. We all come and we all will go, this state of mind makes every minute more valued. On the Camino we walked with some for a minute, with others for the whole way. I was surprised how important even those momentary companions became to my journey. When we walk and tapas here, whether on your trail or through the virtual landscape of this blog, we are moved, changed by the conversations, the comments, the time together.
OK that’s my two cents worth. Many blessings Felipe, Cris and all caminoheads everywhere.
Catherine
Doctor Johnson ~ I really hope that you are warming to the idea of being our Westcoast Bureau Chief, you talent you. You got it inside and out. Thanks, Felipe.x