BLESSED ARE YOU PILGRIM, IF YOU DISCOVER THAT THE “CAMINO” HOLDS A LOT OF SILENCE; AND THE SILENCE OF PRAYER; AND THE PRAYER OF MEETING WITH GOD WHO IS WAITING FOR YOU.
This best describes the time alone that you spend walking. There is time to contemplate and commune even in August which is the busiest month there. Toward the end, after Sarria, finding the time and space for this was harder in the dense flow of pilgrims.
But as we know, God is always present and it is just us that gets distracted with the busyness around us. But there is plenty of silence and time in most of the earlier parts of the trail. The Meseta is the best. A lot of people tend to by-pass this part but it is the best for being out in the middle of nowhere. Kelly said that this was his favorite part and I would have to agree. Of course, the whole Camino is good in it’s own way but for silence the Meseta is priceless.
Well, we are at the end of our Beatitudes with this being number ten and it is getting time to move on down the trail to other things. Just a few last minute items for you. I hope that this has been helpful and thought provoking. It has for me. There are a lot of riddles in there to chew on. There are little puzzles to contemplate. I am currently working on this phrase, “the silence of prayer”. And we must say thank you to the author whomever that may be. It is an unsigned gift to us and we are grateful. Ever onward, love, Phil.
Thanks so much for the Pilgrim Beatitudes, Phil. Every one of them resonated with my experience and your thoughts enhanced my appreciation of them. This last one, about the silence and the contemplation, was my favorite because that was such a surprising gift of the Camino for me. Each day when I was alone, I chose a different person who had influenced my life and focused on only that individual; if they had passed on, I remembered every little thing I could about them and thanked them and, if still alive, thought of ways I can still show gratitude to them while there’s time. When else would I have the luxury of thinking about just one person for hours on end?
Hugs,
Mary
Mary, thanks for link to the wonderful visuals. Phil.