Just saw an email from Annie saying that she had a talk called “Pilgrimage in Place” at the gathering in Altanta.  I think that was the title.  Yes, this is something that we both have been working on for years now.  We are making progress.  It is tricky.

There was a National Geographic that I blogged about not to long ago about the part faith plays in healing.  They went from religious pilgrimage to the placebo effect.  So, much of who we are and how we do things is invisible and not able to be quantified.  How much of a pilgrimage (the effect) is a result of place and how much is a result of spiritual homework?  And how much is from rubbing up against pilgrims from other cultures, places and climes?   And what else?

Anyway I have to walk here this morning in 17 minutes.  Never know who is going to show up.  There is a break in the weather right now, how nice.  Please come and join me if you get to the neighborhood.

We are in this together, that I know for sure.  Muddy boot loves, Felipe.

Rain, rain, rain, Rain R Us.  But we are walking whatever.  Gear up with rubber boots and rain jacket.

Monday 0900-1000

Tuesday 1600-1700

Thursday 0900-1000

Sunday 1600-1700

Alperfect, Felipe.x

Father David even had pink socks on today or is that rose.  That was the color for today’s Mass.  I found a tie that had some pink, rose actually, so I was in the zone.

The reading today was John 9 1-41 and father David read this story of Jesus bringing sight to a poor beggar.  And of course there is a twist, there is always a twist with this Jesus guy.  He not only brings the man physical sight but also spiritual sight while he is at it.

Father David went on in his homily talking about a video he saw on FaceBook.  It was of a young man’s first seeing of color using a new type of eyeglass that brings color to the color blind.  The video of him is his first encounter with color, sounds amazing.   I suppose if we were tricky enough we could look that up.

How often do we take seeing for granted or the seeing of color.  What a gift really.  And we can see how many different nuances of color?  A hundred thousand or what?  Everytime I hear something about that the number grows.  Is that all possible?  What a gift.  And we have that massive capability so we can tell the red Tupperware container from the blue Tupperware in the frig?    Let’s see which one has the leftover spaghetti?

Our new long awaited full color church directory just came out.  We all went in at one point or another to get photographed for it by the team of professionals that came out to the Island.  And there were pictures of various church groups and of the facility and our new icon.  It all looks very spiffy or even zappy maybe.   I brought it home and My Rebecca took one look at it and declared it psychedelic.  Wow, OK, who would want their  church directory any less than that, tell me?

Lately I am big on thinking about the pathway of getting closer to God through the contemplation and appreciation of beauty.  Beside goodness and truthfulness there is beauty, right?  Just a review.  Think of this massive capability that we have and why is it there?

Ah, OK.  Time for lunch and the rest of the day.  My thoughts are with the pilgrims at the  APOC  gathering in Atlanta.  And my prayers, our prayers, are with Sister Joyce as she recovers from hip surgery here in Seattle.  Thanks so much for being here today, colorful loves, Felipe.

I decided it was warm enough out to sit and do the blog out here on the deck.  Is 52 warm?  Years ago I observed that I don’t start thinking till it’s above 50, so I’m sitting here being marginal.

I see the big APOC pow wow is happening in Atlanta.  Pictures are showing up.  I’m seeing Annie and Roni from OK and Nancy from KS.  Please forgive me if I missed you.  Oh, that reminds me, I have get my dues in, always something.

Well, tomorrow is the sunday half way through Lent, Latare Sunday.  Thank you Catherine for that.  We are supposed to wear something pink to celebrate.   I’ll have to dig around.

I think I am going to bail on this outdoor thing, hadn’t really added in the wind chill factor.    OK, that’s better.  Oh, look there have to put those records away.  We had the dinner party last night and I broke out the old vinyl.  It started with Chuck Berry and went on to Janis Joplin and Joanie Mitchell.

OK, have to go.  Walk tomorrow afternoon at 1600.  Lovin this Spring stuff, love, Felipe.

Man, I just got sucked into FaceBook so bad.  Yike.  I should know better, right?  I used to not read anything before I did this blog which is a good thing.    If I start reading other people’s blogs and all the FB posts then I get lost in that.  But here I am now!

My Rebecca is throwing a dinner party tonight so she will be scurrying around here like crazy soon.  I’ll get outside to work on the firewood cutting hopefully.  It is raining now but it will stop soon according to the forecast.

So yesterday afternoon had a long Face Time with Cris from Buenos Aires.   She is an active Catholic, walked the Camino twice and works in cancer research.  That matches up with my 3 C’s so we had a lot to cover.  We as North Americans know so little about South America and it’s people.  Well, I guess we were trying to work on solving that.

She has some great stories of Pope Francis when he was the Bishop of Buenos Aires.   The main cathedral is right near where she worked so she would bump into him there.  He had a program of gathering blankets, clothing and supplies for the homeless and she would help with that after work.  Hangin with the Pope.  I’m FaceBook friends with him but that is not quite the same I guess.

So we are working on the second half of Lent now.  There was some indication at church last Sunday that we were half way.  So we need to continue with our intentions and not let them get drowned out by the world.  Maybe a little less FB and a little more Lent would be helpful and healthy.

Yea, off to my day.   There is a great old joke about Oly and his new chainsaw but it will have to wait for tomorrow.  Alperfect here in the rain, spring loves, Felipe.

Ah, another day for us.  I was up in the early early morn when some of the best things come to me, almost makes it worth it.  But what comes to me relates to something I ran into on Sunday at a talk.

I was expressing the idea that if God has three main qualities, truth , goodness and beauty and then engaging in those things should get us closer to Him.  We seem to over use the truth route in our world, a sort of an intellectual route.  I’m personally a little burned out on that one.  Goodness in my mind follows St Francis and his beliefs.  It always sounds good to me in theory but hard to pull off in the end.  Where beauty I find almost too easy like I’m cheating somehow.  Maybe it is just easier for my sensibilities.

We should probably work on all three of those, I guess.  Anyway back at the talk a man was asking about the beauty route and I think he said, “like the beauty of a flower?”  And I would say yes nature is full of beauty for sure but there is more.  Artists create beauty although not all art is beautiful.  But some art is inspired and is made to praise God or thank God.  Christian art is some of the best art ever created in my book.

But that is me saying that but just the same it is a route to God.  And in the early early morn it came to me that whatever it is that we are studying, following should have these attributes.  One, it needs to inspire us, to draw us forward, to make us grow.  Two, it should bring clarity, to make things easier or more understandable.  Three, there should be a sense of fulfillment to the following of the trail in each step.

This comes to me.  Have to jump up and walk.  Love you, miss you, Felipe.

It’s a new morn, my slate is clean, nothing comes to mind.  What if one day I couldn’t write the blog because I had nothing to say?  Is that happening today?   No, that little breeze will blow in an idea.

Ah, there it is.  As I travel around with the film I get a chance to get up in front of folks and send my insights their way.  One of the things that is a challenge for me in this process is trying to keep my talk light and positive and funny.  After dealing with my and other people’s cancer for five years I had to get to a place that was sustainable.  The topic is so heavy and laced with so much fear and dread that no one can be in that place for long and survive.  I needed sort of a halfway house to exist in, to live out of.

So developing a way that was workable but not glib became a goal.  It was hard to strike a balance and one of the keys is to openly acknowledge those that are having a hard time with their cancer.  I feel totally blessed that my walk is so what?  It isn’t easy but it is doable, there is a pathway forward.  And it is especially important to acknowledge the young people and their families that are so challenged with their cancer.

In that vein, I have to introduce you to Suzanne, one of my nurses extraordinaire.  She is like the Clark Kent of my world.  Oncology nurse by day, project fund riser by night.  I really have not met many people in my life with that kind of devotion and dedication.  She is the main driving force behind Ladybug House, a dream for tomorrow.

Ladybug House is modeled after facilities elsewhere. There is nothing like this in our region though.  It would provide a place where a young person fighting cancer could both have treatment and have a life.  It isn’t a hospital, it is more homey than that.  It isn’t a hospice, although it may at times function as one.  It is a place of community where these challenged youths can be as much like who they are supposed to be as possible.   There is nothing like it in our immediate experience so it is not easy to describe but a nurse who has worked with literally thousand of cancer patients can see it.   This is Ladybug House in Suzanne’s imagination.   She has been working on this for something like twenty years but so many connections have to be made, so much treasure has to be found for it to become a reality.

I have no time or money myself and all I can do really is be her friend and put in a good word for her.   We are all in the trenches of our lives in one way or another.  Being there for each other is important and always appreciated.  We ar Caminoheads are here for you Suzanne!

Off I go, being here for each other loves, Felipe.

We were out of bread this morning and first thing I made a batch of cornbread.  I noticed that the date on the package of corn meal was ’14.  This is our meal that we make from our corn and that package was from the crop that is in the film.  Nice.  This goodness that I am enjoying, that will fuel me, is in that shot of the corn with Wiley and me picking.

The film, what a lovely and powerful instrument.  I am so close to it and have seen it so many times that I don’t appreciate it as the audience does perhaps.   But  it travels on to places that I will never get to and to be seen by people I will never meet.  It is all an interesting phenomenon.

Anyway, I look at the land were we will grow the corn this year and wonder how the spring will go.  Last year was so early.  This year I don’t know.  One thing I do know is that I need to foil the deer and raccoons and the weeds.  Those three claimed about half of the crop last year.  New plans are developing.

I have two archery classes to teach and a walk to walk today.  Have to work on the yearly firewood gathering inbetween those.  Pretty busy these days.  But have to take time for tapas later of course.

I got an email from the local zen center inviting me to come and speak to them in April.  Yes, of course, how can I say no.  People hungry to talk about things of the spirit it seems.  Well, we do that big time, right?

OK, time to get ready for class.  Thanks for walking with me this morning.  Couldn’t do it without you and what fun would it be anyway?  Corny loves, Felipe.

Wow, no joke, spring has sprung.  Hope you are in as good a mood as I am about this whole thing.  I am looking forward to soon drying out and limbering up my cramped body.

Just had a great walk.  Catherine and Dana showed up to join Dave Owens and myself.  Dave is from Santiago de Compostela Church in Forest Park, CA.  They put on a Camino every year around St. James feast day,  They are walking Saturday July 22 and I am going down for that event.  And he wants me to show Phil’s Camino the night before at a dinner.  So, on the road again for Felipe.  Maybe you can join us if you are in the neighborhood.  Details I am sure will be up on church website.

Thanks for checking in today.  Monday and happy about our week getting started.  Lovin you and yours, Felipe.x

This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoince and be glad in it.  That’s a quote from the Hebrew Bible that just  jumped into my head.  So beautiful!  And this the very very last day of winter, the winter of ‘16-‘17. Woo Hoo!

Catherine and I had a get together at the Episcopal Church with a group that was interested in pilgrimage.  I’m glad that I asked her to come with me.  It was a good and rewarding time for everyone.  What could be better than talking about pilgrimage, shoot we could have gone all day and all night.  And I am always mindful of how this blog helps me out, us out in keeping this stuff at the tip of our tongues.

And that QandA today was the last in this flurry of five engagements in the last two weeks.  I don’t know if I am bragging or complaining on that but it sure feels like my life is full these days.   We are out there being joyful and explaining some of the finer points. What could be better, I’m happy!

Right now I am going to say how much I love you and do come back.  I am going to get outside and dive into this glorious sunshine.  Walk at 1600, then tapas!

Thanks so much for being with us today, everyday loves, Felipe.