Sometimes the light’s all shinin’ on me,Other times I can barely seeLately it occurs to me what a long, strange trip it’s been The Grateful Dead I will preface this note with the fact that I did NOT lose anything. That said, I am finally in possession of all the symbols you gave me for my walk on the Way. For almost a year I turned the house upside down trying to locate them, praying my absent-mindedness put them somewhere…
Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. Robert Frost When we arrived at Santiago de Compostela, we stayed at Hospedería San Martín Pinario, a monastery that has been coverted into a hotel. The beauty of the room was its simplicity. A bed. A desk. A bathroom. A large window that swung open to reveal lovely vistas. I have been fortunate enough to stay in…
“That’s the ideal meeting…once upon a time, only once, unexpectedly, then never again.” Helen Oyeyemi In the movie The Way, Tom meets three characters along The Way and joins forces with them. Along their Way, the four of them meet other characters. I met some characters on my path. Some I conversed with and shared a moment. Others I just observed. There was Sue. I first met Sue through one of the group members who had met her along her…
And the legs were shaped with his handsAnd the top made of oaken woodAnd the childrenThat sat around this great tableTouched it with their laughterAh, and that was good Neil Diamond, Morningside Taken out of context, Neil’s words sound sweet. The truth is that the lyrics are taken from a sad song about an Old Man who made a table, carved words into it, passed away, and no one claimed it. End of story. The music, however, is beautiful. It’s…
“Ask yourself how old would you be if you didn’t know the day you were born.” Toby Keith I feel extremely grateful for the time I had celebrating with “old” friends. 50 now feels like an initiation into something special rather than a crisis. I am enjoying the opportunity to write about my reflections. It is interesting to me that so much continues to show up after walking the Camino. Turning 50 seems to lead into a discussion on age…
Galicia, an autonomous region on Spain’s rugged northwestern coast, is home to ancient relics, pagan myths and a vibrant, living history unlike anywhere else in the world. KIran Herbet I wish I would have known more about the “vibrant, living history” of the Camino before I left. The research I did was mainly about the different routes and the Christian significance. I was so busy researching how to negotiate the foreign countries and walk the Camino that I didn’t think…
“People use them all over world, this is universal…It’s the idea that someone takes rock, this inanimate object, and builds a pile and invests it with meaning.” David Williams You took the time to thoughtfully choose a symbol that I could take along with me on my trip. You invested meaning into your object and took the time to send it to me. I wanted to do right by all of them. I spent a fair amount of time trying…
It’s OKAY to go “slow”- whatever that means for you! Caroline Trimble Once again, I find myself in a lull. It’s not “Writer’s Block” or “Writer’s Resistance” this time. It’s more like “The Trip Is Starting To Fade And I’m Losing The Details Syndrome.” Writing is all in the details. Anton Chekov said, ““Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” As the details fade, so does my writing. But I get so…
“Everyone has a point of view. Some people call it style, but what we’re really talking about is the guts of a photograph. When you trust your point of view, that’s when you start taking pictures.” Annie Liebovitz I spent some time staring out the window trying to figure out why I really like this quote. I’ve already talked about wishing I would have brought my good camera. It’s #1 on the “I wish I would have” list. One of…
“There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.” Dalai Lama Yesterday I sat down and wrote a “I wish I would have…” list. As I already mentioned, in hindsight there are things I wish I would have done differently. I don’t think this is an uncommon practice and many people resonate. I…