Love changes everything

Françoise and Roger on the plateau above Cahors on a very hot day

"Love,
Love changes everything:
Hands and faces,
Earth and sky,
Love,
Love changes everything:
How you live and
How you die"

~Andrew Lloyd Webber
(see the whole song YouTube)
 

This was a day when I had a lot of contact with Françoise and Roger, and they turned out to be guardian angels. I had met them the previous evening in the convent at Vaylats where we shared the evening meal together. After lunch this day, I ran out of water in the unexpected heat. Somehow or other it seems that we met a local who discovered we were low on water... he returned and gave my angels some water. They ran in the heat to catch up to me to share the water...cold fresh water.... Their kindness in giving me the water was every bit as restorative as the water itself. 

I never saw Françoise and Roger again after this act of kindness: I would love to know how they got on, and if they reached Santiago... 

Sacred Ground

nearing the Orisson gite on a flatter section of the climb over the Pyrenees

'Any place is sacred ground, 

for it can become a place of encounter with the Divine Presence.'

"These words from Br. David Steindl-Rast, appeared on the 'Word for the Day' on the gratefulness.org website on New Year's Day this year. Wonderful words for the beginning of the year, they reminded me that I can stand on sacred ground and meet God anywhere.
When I am aware of God's presence, I am not only filled with gratitude, but I learn to treat others with reverence and respect."

~John Dew         Archbishop of Wellington, New Zealand

who walked the Camino Frances in 2010

Simplicity, Patience, Compassion

Woman who had walked from Brittany, relaxing in Ostabat,

"I have just three things to teach: 

simplicity, patience, compassion. 

These three are your greatest treasures. 

Simple in actions and in thoughts, 

you return to the source of being. 

Patient with both friends and enemies, 

you accord with the way things are. 

Compassionate toward yourself, 

you reconcile all beings in the world."

(Tao Te Ching, Chapter 67)

This French woman who I met in Ostabat was persevering despite great pain in her feet. 
I never saw her again after SJPP where I took an extra rest day. I hope she made it to Santiago, either on this walk or at a later time. She had walked pretty much alone until Bordeaux when she had met a pair of women walking, one of whom was seriously sight-impaired. 
The three walked together, helping each other. They were an inspiration.

Solitary Walking

 arrow someone has made in stone at a crossroads in routes

heading for Astorga on the beautiful, less-peopled 'countryside' option from Hospital de Orbigo

"How many of us are completely at ease with our own thoughts, 
comfortably at home in our own minds and bodies?
I know I'm not always in this ideal state. 
Far from it. 
So solitary walking gives me the chance to explore a little 
the murky depths of my own mind, 
to clear some weeds from the muddy pool of my unconscious, 
to sort out my ideas and beliefs, 
to shine a little light into my soul, 
to reflect on God and the nature of life, death and the universe. 
And, with luck, to meet up with some interesting people, 
and enjoy a few beers with them along the Way..."

~Robert

on his Solitary Walker blog

Robert has many reflections on walking you might want to check out,

as well as accounts of the varied walking journeys he has made.

Pilgrims on a journey

  Ultreia Gîte, Moissac:- Hosts: Rom and Aideen

"We are pilgrims on a journey
We are brothers on the road
We are here to help each other
Walk the mile and bear the load

I will weep when you are weeping
When you laugh I'll laugh with you
I will share your joy and sorrow
Till we've seen this journey through"

~from "the servant song"

by Richard Gillard

Rom and Aideen have moved from their homeland of Ireland

to serve the needs of pilgrims on the route to Compostela.

This gîte is their home

where they offer warm hospitality

and genuine care for pilgrims. 

I count them as friends, and hope to return to visit them one day.

There are several moving verses in this song,
but I chose the one about laughter and tears 
as they are two things I think most pilgrims come to know well....

Compassion

 sign on the door of Red Cross Clinic for pilgrims, Estella 

"Compassion is a verb." 

~Thich Nhat Hanh

Estella is reached within a few days walk after leaving Roncesvalles, 

and for some who started, perhaps too quickly,

there has been time for bodies and feet to lay complaints about the treatment meted out.

Some 'veteran' pilgrims also have bodies that are in need of some tenderness 

with the Pyrenees safely crossed behind them.

I know two people who visited this Red Cross Clinic

run by volunteers for pilgrims.

They -one 'newbie' and one 'veteran'- found it a haven of kindness,

with soft music, and tender, gentle care,

a safe place for tears.

People who show compassion

are treasures in this world.

The Road

on the Meseta

early one morning

The Road

Here is the road: the light

comes and goes then returns again.

Be gentle with your fellow travelers

as they move through the world of stone and stars

whirling with you yet every one alone.

The road waits.

Do not ask questions but when it invites you

to dance at daybreak, say yes.

Each step is the journey; a single note the song.

~ Arlene Gay Levine ~

found in a post on the Camino Forum

by Nandy 61

Irish Blessing

four lovely ladies from St Etienne who looked after the foreigner at dinner in Saugues

seen here donning all their layers against the cold near Chanaleilles

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
May the rain fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

"Que les chemins s 'ouvrent pour t 'accueillir,
Que le vent souffle toujours dans ton dos,
Que le soleil brille modérément sur ton visage,
Que la pluie tombe fine sur tes champs,
Et, en attenant notre prochaine rencontre,
Que Dieu te garde dans la paume de Sa main."

~An Irish Blessing

French translation as seen at  Eunate in Spain 

and posted to Camino Forum

Plant a garden of life

seen in the mist on a descent from Cruz de Ferro
another of the person-made hearts
someone was making ahead of us on the Camino Frances

"Though your heart is in exile
Plant a garden of life where you stand
Seek the welfare of all those around you
And your welfare will lay in your hand."

~ from "If you seek me"
a song by David Kauffman

"What about the God bit?"

Three Camino friends from Halifax, in the parish albergue at Granon

"Whilst the Camino to Santiago is essentially a Catholic pilgrimage
to the shrine said to contain the bones of one of the apostles
another thing I discovered is that there is no right or wrong way to travel the Camino to Santiago.
It isn’t just for holy people, or those who go to Church or people of faith.
It is for everyone.
But is it a spiritual experience? “What about the God bit?”

Over the last few days as I’ve thought about that question
and how to answer people who ask it,
I’ve been drawn to notes on my real experiences of pilgrimage.
They describe for me real encounters
with kindness, love, tolerance, respect, understanding.
Maybe they are the "God bit”?"

~From the blog: Camino to Santiago de Compostela
by Johnnie Walker