Rainbow at Orisson

part way up the pass over the Pyrenees

a magnificent rainbow draped the evening skies

“What you are in love with,

what seizes your imagination

will affect everything. 

It will decide what will get you out of bed in the mornings, 

what you will do with your evenings, 

how you spend your weekends, 

what you read, who you know, 

what breaks your heart, 

and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. 

Fall in love, stay in love, 

and it will decide everything.”

~Pedro Arrupe S.J. 

 

The evening spent at Orisson, part-way up the Napoleon Route over the Pyrenees,
was one of the most precious times on the whole Chemin for me.
The view was magnificent, out across the 'layers' of hills and mountains.
Then a rainbow came, and was draped right across the sky and the mountains.
(This photo of just a portion of it gives merely a hint of the glory.)

These outdoor glories, the small ones and the large ones,
are treasures in my heart
and noticing them
has seeped within
as a reason for my being.

What makes you come alive?

On top of O'Cebreiro

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs.
Ask yourself what makes you come alive,
and then go do that.
Because what the world needs
is people who have come alive."

~Howard Thurman

I want to add to the beauty....

Dandelion seen one morning, after leaving Miradoux

"We come with beautiful secrets

We come with purposes written on hearts

written on our souls

We come to every new morning

with possibilities only we can hold

Redemption comes in strange places, small spaces,

Calling out the best of who we are

I want to add to the beauty

to tell a better story...."

~From a blog by Kelle Hampton

called "Enjoying the Small Things".

Kelle has two small girls, Lainey and Nella.

Her baby, Nella, is just a few months old

and was born with Down Syndrome.

Kelle is a photographer who takes exquisite photos of her life
and especially of her girls.

Whispers of a Conversation

Rochegude: chapel dedicated to St James

"You can be a traveller on your own, but not, I think, a pilgrim.
Pilgrimage connects you to something bigger than yourself.
Pilgrimage connects you to longings that come from deep places
and that cannot easily be explained.

Even the solitary pilgrim is on a shared quest,
overhearing some whispers of a conversation
that has been going on for years.

interior of chapel, Rochegude

Pilgrims don’t always have a clear idea
of what they’re doing or why they’re doing it,
but they keep going,
exchanging nods on the way."

~from Jim Forest’s The Road to Emmaus
found on Andy's PilgrimPace Blog

Mary Oliver quote

Daisy in my back garden

"And did you feel it, in your heart,
how it pertained to everything?
And have you too finally figured out
what beauty is for?
And have you changed your life?"

~Mary Oliver from ‘the swan’
Quote found on The Alchemy of Pilgrimage blog