I am on the red Spanish couch stretched out and maybe will take a nap if I don’t watch it. The full moon is coming on and I had trouble sleeping last night. But I have so much to do today that I need to Write to you and then get outside.
And while I am here thinking of what to write I hear a hummingbird’s call because the front door is open right next to me. It is a very distinctive sound and you can’t mistake it. It is beautiful in it’s own way.
And thinking about things beautiful I remembered something that I learned on the Camino. So, if things Godly are good, true and beautiful then it is good to hang around such things. I can remember in Spain staring at things beautiful and thinking that for instance if I looked upon a beautiful cloud for ten seconds that was better than looking at it for nine seconds. It had never occured to me before to just savor things in a quantitative way like that. To soak them in for as long as possible. Or maybe to be in their presence for as long as possible.
Well, that is enough of a thought for one day. I am going to get outside and do some soaking of the beauty that is Vashon Island in the sunshine. Have to water my little sunflower seeds, no letting them dry out! Ok you all, time to go, beautiful cloud loves, Felipe.
Hola Amigo Felipe!
This story would be an amazing thing were it not for the fact that it’s a Camino thing and therefore becomes almost a normal thing. I have been corresponding with an American lady of our vintage married to a former career British Army Officer (Armored) for nearly two years now. She was one of the first to respond to my self-introduction on the Camino de Santiago Forum. I actually think of her as a friend now, though we have never met. She started walking her Camino from her home in France in the spring of 2013 (her home is almost directly on the Chemin San Jacque (samey same only in French). I knew I would never actually catch up to her since I started much further east in France and at a slightly later date but I followed her along on her blog. I was really rooting for her as she had lots of doubts about whether she would be able to make it. Add to that the fact she was going it alone as her husband, the soldier, was fighting his own battle with the Cancer foe and wasn’t able to be along as they had always planned. As it came to pass (as they say so often in the Bible) she wasn’t able to finish the Way due to insurmountable problems with feet and legs. She was crushed, physically and mentally. Her husband drove to the hospital where she was being treated and drove her back home assuring her that BOTH of them would do this journey and this was merely a detour along the Way. Well, Cancer-Smiter Soldier Tim in now on his 28th day of continuous walking (his pace reminds me more of a “forced march” pace, but he likes it that way) and TOMORROW his dear Karin will join him at the spot she had to leave the walk two years ago. I feel for them like they are friends I’ve know all my life. Just another little vignette illustrating those “Godly true and beautiful things” you spoke of today.
SF,
PFJ
Great story Juan. It’s fun to hear of these things, people surmounting the difficulties. Maybe you could get a pic for the blog. Felipe.
Beautiful story, John. And I just came across a quote to go with so many of our Camino Synchronicities: ‘Coincidences are God’s way of remaining anonymous.’
My Camino began in 2002 when I was invited to spend a month in Tours, France, teaching at a business school. As a long-time St. Martin groupie, I went to Mass at the Basilica of St. Martin of Tours and picked up a leaflet, in English (this rarely happens), that said, ‘Pilgrim, you are not here by chance.’ Every hair on my body stood up and I just knew that someday there would be the necessary convergence of time and money to allow me to walk The Way.
So last summer, I was once again invited to teach at that business school in Tours and returned immediately to the basilica. I found the same brochure but this time in Spanish. My first sello is from Tours because that’s where I really began.
I am so eager to pick up where I left off in Leon in July and finish the Chemin de St. Jacques!
Warm regards,
MM
Mary Margaret (MM) met Pilgrim Farmer John (PFJuan). Thanks for getting together on our virtual trail, you guys are great! And thanks for your great comments. Quality comments make this whole situation come alive. Felipe.
This is beautiful, just beautiful, PFJ! I feel so lucky today, everyday actually, to be starting my day reading such beautiful words. I don’t make it here to Caminoheads every day, so I often binge read, but this is a great reminder to swing by every day. 🙂 Anyway, today’s post about savoring beauty is a continuation of a conversation I was having last night about art and the value of simply surrounding oneself with beauty as much as possible. If you read Phil’s posts and feel the same way a lot of the time – like you were JUST talking about whatever it is he is writing about – it is no coincidence, no accident. We can’t help ourselves! We are in step with one another and we may as well accept it, ha ha! I love walking with you Felipe, I love walking with all our Caminoheads, wherever they may be. At some point I hope to cross paths with you all, but until then, Buen Camino! I love you . . . I can’t help myself! <3
Haven’t figured out HOW to get a pic on these replies. Maybe Answers Annie can give me a tutorial. Listening to a gentle rain falling on our planted corn seeds. How sweet it is!
SF,
PFJ
PFJuan ~ just email to [email protected] . Felipe.
LOL Answer Annie thinks it has something to do with WordPress, so it may be out of all of our hands! Just send it to Felipe and he can post it. It may even get posted upside down if you’re lucky 😉