I thought to take advantage of the cold weather here (right now is 41F) and write on behalf of The Boss who is under the heat wave as if he would be in the tropics. And I will write more about rocks and polishing rocks, and shaping our lives… It seems to me that we have been talking a lot about these topics in the last several days in a way or another. As I read the posts of these last days, an image a man called Ed wrote about the Camino de Santiago came to mind; this is it:
“…you put rocks of different shapes, sizes, colors, textures, some rough, some smoother into a barrel tumbler, turn it on so that the rocks all bump into and rub up against one another and after the process is complete and you take the rocks out each has been transformed into a new, smooth but different and unique thing of beauty.”
For Ed, “the tumble of Camino life” brought him — and all of the pilgrims — up against “joy, suffering, beauty, anger, frustration, depression, peace, chaos, pain, your past, your present, the unknowns of your future, your inevitable death. You just never knew.”
When I read this several years ago, I thought how true and accurate that image was: the Camino shaped us, but what shaped us was not only the walking, but also the time we walked with others “against who we rub up” and the time we walked alone or in silence, but the idea that we were in a pilgrimage with others also was present for us “to rub up against”. The whole experience shaped us, polished our rough edges, rekindled our colors and transformed us in something more beautiful for sure, although we don’t know exactly what and how that means, but what we do know is that once a pilgrim, you are forever a pilgrim, and that means too that the experience of the “barrel tumbler” continues. Ed wrote too:
“What the pilgrimage will be in the end, what it will hold, and what it will reveal to us,” they concluded, “remains a mystery as does so much in life.”
Sharon Salzberg, the very famous meditation teacher wrote:
“In a way, every day feels like a journey into the unknown, with the attendant possibilities of danger, defeat, and lost moorings. I try to remind myself, every day, that I can reframe this time as a time of pilgrimage, with attendant possibilities of profound companionship, unexpected strengths, and transformation.”
And I was thinking of the unknown music that Al, Phil, Wiley and Rebecca listened when looking at those rocks, and I thought also of the work that Al and Wiley will do into the “unknown-ness” of them, and I couldn’t help but thinking what those rocks “will reveal to us”. What I am sure is that this time continues to be “a time of pilgrimage, with attendant possibilities of profound companionship, unexpected strengths, and transformation.”
Rub Loves,
Cris
Wow Cris, nice job on the rock tumbling. That is it exactly. Maybe I need to write a blog in answer. Thank you Cris, we are cooking here and the blog wasn’t coming. Felipé.x
You are welcome, boss. Somehow I just need to justify my salary and my fingers were freezing, I had to put them to work!!!
And I totally would love to read your thoughts on this topic!
Stay cool and hydrated.
Lots and lots of love.
Cris
Thanks, Cris! WIse words and a lot to ponder. I resonated with the image of tumbling rocks and I really appreciate the quote from Sharon Salzberg.
Writing from a weekend trip. . .staying at our favorite hot springs in Boulder, Montana.
Susan
Dear Susan,
Apologies for the late reply, last week has been very busy at work and couldn’t make up to my promise of holding the fort these days on behalf of the boss!
I am sooo happy that your daughter met with Phil, and that now you and your husband are here with us, we love to have you to “rub against”!
Sharon Salzberg words are so useful to remind ourselves or our capacities… “reframe” and “right-size” should become part of our daily training.
Love to you! Hope you had a great time in the hot springs!
Cris
I will have to ponder this for awhile! Great analogy that that has caused me to be quit pensive about all this polishing, tumbling and rubbing! It is true we are forever shaped by our experiences on the Camino! But the polishing continues long after the Camino and in due course can make us shiny! Some rocks are more rough and rugged and take more time to polish to arrive at their final and ultimate beauty…
Dear Carol,
I guess our conclusion that “once a pilgrim, forever a pilgrim” applies here too, right? The rubbing against, shaping and polishing cannot be separated from the breathing…
Lots of love,
Cris
Yes, yes, yes Chris! Thank you so much for these wise words. What a lovely way to think of our entire lives: we start out rough, and it is only with the rubbing and jumbling against others can we become polished. Thank you. Love you!
Dear Annie,
Many many years ago, I read the thesis of a person who is very close to me, who for many years of his life, was a judge in the highest criminal court of Sao Paulo in Brazil. He wrote that in the most cases, we were hurt by an individual, but healed by the community. He was talking not about the victims, for which we know this is true, but about the perpetrators. When you invited the film-maker of “Skid Row” to the Pilgrims Table, I couldn’t help but thinking on that I read so many years ago.
This is just to say that this theory about the barrel tumbler is quite applicable!!!
Safe travels! Many hugs!
Cris