It’s been a really cool morning and built a fire in the stove which is unusual for May.  It’s been overcast but just this minute spotted some blue up there.  It’s the usual back and forth of spring weather.  Was working on the corn yesterday and am ready to plant.   A couple of more days for the soil to warm some more would be good.  Farmer John in Iowa tells me that his corn is up there.   Well, we’ll catch up.

We have a morning walk here in a little over an hour.  Maybe I’ll have some company, feel like company today.   Yesterday I dedicated the walk to a friend of Catalina’s, Father Michael, who got a recent diagnosis.  Ah.  I did a rosary and put rocks on the pile for the dear man.

And yes, Catalina is coming up here over Memorial Day weekend to be with us.  She in in the art history department at one of the Catholic colleges in Berkley.  I get confused on this as there is more than one.  Anyway, she has been so interested in Phil’s Camino the trail for a long time now.  She has written a magazine article about it and now has plans for a book, pretty amazing.  And that’s why she is coming up, to walk the trail, meet the family and interview us for this project.  I’m honored.

Little did I know when I built the trail back is 2013 that it would have the impact that it has had.  Little did I know that there is historical precedent for the activity of building facsimiles of bigger things, far away things maybe.  People in the past have made things to remind them of something bigger or have made things to participate in to get an idea of a larger experience.  This is the reason for Phil’s Camino in the first place.  Sure it was to be an exercise program for my cancer rehabilitation but it was also a way for me to have an inspirational experience, simultaneously.   I needed something more than the “health club experience”.   I had done that for my last round of chemo and it was chore, been there done that.  That was satisfying for my inner gerbil and that was about it.

So, the freedom and downright joy of walking outside in Nature, with friends, with interesting conversation, with thoughts of St James and the Spanish trail, with prayers being said so astounding.  Annie O’Neil helped me a lot at this point with her visit and with her book, “Everyday Camino with Annie”.   It was a rich, heady mix of ingredients.  I found something valuable and it worked for me which was the important thing.

OK, glad you came.  Come walk sometime soon.  Love, Felipe.

Yea, well, I can wept at the drop of a hat these days but this really affected me this morning.  Our beloved Father Marc the priest at St. John Vianney Parish is leaving for a new assignment.  I guess it has been seven years that he has been here.  But he was my first priest.  I gave him a hug and told him I would miss him.

Well, it will be a new day for us at the church.  Luckily I don’t think that we have to share him with another parish or mission like so many places do.  I guess we are so isolated with the ferry and all they figure that one place is enough.  OK, yes of course I will welcome him.  We will learn something different from a new personality.

I think it was General deGaulle that said on his retirement that no one is indispensable.  That stands for us to of course.   What is the positive side of that?   Well we, ego animals that we are think that we have to do every darn thing all by ourselves.  But in reality we are N important  part of the Cloud of Believers, the Flow of Pilgrims and the Communion of Saints and we don’t have to do it all.   We are not supposed to do it all.  We are an indispensable part of but not indispensable.  I think that makes sense.

Yup, time to go.  Happy Mother’s to All the Mom’s!  indispensable love, Felipe.

Reading Joyce Rupp’s book is really a joy.  She must have done  some heavy journaling as she traveled.   The book has so many rememberances of all flavors and varieties.  And as you read each one of her remembrances it has some equalivantent in your experience.   But you probably forgot about it because you didn’t write it down the same day that it happened.   Pretty fun process for the forgetful.

It stirred up a memory of an awkward moment that happened recently on My Camino after Spain.  One that I haven’t talked about on the blog.  You know I forgot about it.  My Rebecca and I were at SeaTac Airport headed for security for the flight to Austin.  This was in March and we were going to The South by Southwest Film Festival for the world premier of Phil’s Camino.

I was ahead of Rebecca slightly and I was behind a lady who cut the corner to sharply around the first pylon of the security maze.  She had a rollie bag and it got caught and the resulting physics caused her to start to fall.  And not thinking, just reacting, I made a grab for her to stave off an injury.  And such improvisation didn’t lead me to touch  her in exactly the right places.   Talk about TSA!  My immediate thought was, “Oh boy, now what?”  But she was gracious and thankful but an awkward situation none the less.

But that ackwardness lead to laughter and a conversation as we worked our way forward.   And what a good sport she was and yes she has walked the Camino.   We can’t help ourselves, right?  So, a most memorable moment that I have forgotten about.

Yup, that’s how it goes for us Caminoheads, never a dull moment.  OK, Mother’s Day tomorrow, don’t forget that.  Trip and fall loves, Felipe.

It just struck me that where there is a JUST (yesterday’s post) there must be a JUST BECA– USE.   If we are walking along, for instance, for the sake of walking, let’s say.   That is such a low keyed activity on our part with little or no glamor.  It is just a JUST.   It is what it is in other words.  There is nothing to say or yell to anyone, this is cool, this is something to pay attention to, this is what we are all about.

So, the motivation on our part to keep walking, or whatever JUST we have going, must be based on something different.  It is a different animal.  We must be doing it in a manner that means something to us on a deeper level.  I am not trying to reinvent the wheel here as this has been thought about by a million people before but as far as I am concerned putting things into words always makes things clearer for me.

Gosh Felipe, what are you trying to say?  If the world that we mostly experience is a clamor of competing influences and we are to the point where this is too much for us, then what?  Here I am with this immense overstimulation from my surroundings and I am busy trying to block it out, how hard is it going to see things that JUST ARE.  If I am in this blocking mode how hard is it to see things that people are doing that are  so camouflaged in their  understatement, they JUST ARE.

Maybe getting on the right wavelength would open up new vistas for me.  Maybe paying attention would mean discovering things that aren’t readily apparent.  Am I rambling?  No, I think that I am getting somewhere.

Maybe this all was crystallized by a conversation that I had yesterday with a neighbor.  He has a problem that is serious, it’s not cancer but something else life  changing.  Anyway early on in the process of dealing with this disease he and a friend who also had the same or similar problem were biking and making jokes with each other about how many other bikers they were passing.  You know, like if those people only knew how screwed up we are and we are still passing them.  But  somewhere along the line they realized that perhaps there was more to it and maybe those people had problems too.  It is the realization like on the Camino when you get outside yourself and understand that everyone walking has a story.

The sun is out, the sky is blue and off I go, love again, Felipe.

I was JUST looking at the image that serves as the cover photo on Joyce Rupp’s book that we have been talking about lately.   It is a monochrome pic, in black and white.  Joyce is walking from right to left in the foreground with pack and walking stick.  There is a stone fence running along side her and in the distance stretch rolling hills covered in vegetation and a little misty.   It is an amazingly JUST cover for a book.  In other words so much could have  been done to make it exciting but wasn’t.

Got me thinking.    How often are we assaulted by the exciting.  Everyone and their brother trying to get our attention.   Life is like walking through a county fair with the barkers trying to convince you to come into their tent to see the tattooed lady or whatever.

But we came back from the Camino with  new way to look at things and a new way to live which in my words now, JUST IS.  It is simpler and more direct, happier and more open.  And JUST  more JUST IS, right?  It’s a lot like the cover of the book to the casual observer.

Is that a problem?  Well, maybe we are missing good things because one we are screening out too much because everything is constantly shouting at us.  Or maybe we are a little lazy or not is the practice of patiently observing and we miss much that JUST looks JUST.   JUST a thought.

Hey, have to go, my day is calling.  Thanks, love, Felipe.

I’ve had major lessons from My Sister Joyce, my spiritual advisor.  That’s a good thing.  But another good thing is a book that was given to me by Tim and Mary in Dubuque entitled Walk In A Relaxed Manner – Life Lessons From The Camino, written by a different Joyce.  Thanks Tim and Mary, this one has been on my radar and recommended by My Sister Joyce actually.

I hate to bring this up but the author, Joyce Rupp is also a Sister.  But I think that I will just refer to her as Joyce or Joyce Rupp to cut down on the confusion.

There are twenty five short chapters each representing twenty five lessons that she learned while walking the Camino.  It would a great project for me to comment on each of those but that’s not going to happen in the immediate future.  I’m about half way through the book and have enjoyed each and every chapter so far and am looking forward to reading more especially one’s entitled, ” Enter into the Hum of Humanity” and “Enjoy Existential Friendships”.   Yea, that’s what I am talking about!

So, just placing this particular book and perhaps this particular author on your radar.  The book could be a big help working on the “inner” Camino.  Yea, what is it that we are supposed to be learning as we walk?  Joyce Rupp can help with that.

OK, off to my day.  What is it that I am supposed to learn today as I walk my day?

Love you, Felipe.

Just got Wiley and myself fed for breakfast and he is off to participate in another day in the construction trade.  Here I am on the red couch blogging away on the upswing of my chemo cycle.  Is there life after Dubuque is the question at the moment.  Well of course there is and probably only a cup of coffee away from here.

Mary Margaret just checked in via email and sent a pic of me from two years ago when she, Kelly, Angela and I were in Carrion de Los Condes.  And I think the film crew was with us there at tapas.  That’s great because that is where we are on Phil’s Camino now, timely.  And it’s the same thing of getting each other down the trail and enjoying each other’s company there as now here at Phil’s Camino.

Last evening there was a great birthday party for Our Catherine.  My Rebecca made some fancy tapas for the occasion and we tried to drink all the wine in the world.  It was a gorgeous evening after a gorgeous day and we had to celebrate that also after the long darn winter.

OK, knowing that you are there reading these words is comforting for me.  Knowing that we are connected is a perfect world.  Come walk this afternoon at four if you are in the neighborhood.  Later, love, Felipe.

I am back in the Pacific Northwest for a week now after our great trip to the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival.  And I am happy to report that I am now able to spell both Julian and Dubuque correctly.  It is a jewel of a festival in a jewel of a city.  I only expect that well kept secret to spread.

Annie and I went on this particular trip to represent “Phil’s Camino” in the Heartland.  It is a real privilege to be able to meet with folks that are attracted by the film.  And also Annie and I seldom get a chance to work together directly.

There we so many great folks that we met at and around the festival.  I don’t even want to start mentioning names as I would enevevitably leave out people.  People took us out to dinner and get togethers.  Other people took us on tours where we met other great people and saw the sights.

I want to thank the sponsors and the board of the festival.  They did a great job with the big picture.  And all the staff and the volunteers that we worked with daily were a dream and Iowa nice.  And the people of Dubuque were there to say hello and how can we help you.

Also special mention of the staff and Sisters at the BVM ( Blessed Virgin Mary) Motherhouse for their graciousness.  It was such a moving experience to be there among good friends of my beloved Sister Joyce.  That visit was priceless.

So, back here to life at the ranch, navigating through the hurtles of ordinary life, another version of real life.  I am fortunate to be able to go on these trips with the film and hopefully be a part of a gift of inspiration to folks that need it.  That’s all very rewarding and fun and high.

Reading  Richard Rohr’s and Terry Hershey’s blog posts and then off to walk our Monday morning session at 0900.  The best to you on this Monday, love, Felipe.

So, if we were in Spain walking the Big Camino we would have just passed through the town of Carrion de Los Condes.  The weather is beautiful here and the air filled with the sweetness of spring.  So, come if you have a spare hour.  Here is our current schedule:

Monday 0900-1000

Tuesday 1600-1700

Thursday 0900-1000

Sunday 1600-1700

Looking forward to seeing you at some point, Love, Phil.

This is a wonderful book by Joyce Rupp that Sister Joyce pointed out to me maybe a year ago.  It was on my radar but I had to get to Dubuque to finally get a copy.  Well, it was a free copy which is even better.  It was a gift from Tim and Mary, wonderful folks that took me on a tour of the environs.

It is a book about walking the Camino de Santiago and some insights that Joyce gained.  It is marvelously detailed.  Right now in the chapter I am reading she is talking about how the beauty of Spain and the beauty of the people around her brought her through the hard places.

Well, I am off to the hospital.  Have to take Pancho, my sidekick portable chemo pump back.  Yup, and a chance to smooze with folks there.

So, consider beauty as a antidote to the hurt of your struggle.  It’s out there around us all the time whether it is in a book, CD, gallery or maybe growing up out of a crack in the sidewalk.  You’re the best, love, Felipe.