MANUEL and DOCENDA

So much has been happening and I have had a time trying to keep up with it all.  I very much want to journal every awareness and I am overwhelmed by the multitude of new thoughts. Part of the problem is the technology limitations while traveling in the remote areas and having to post info when wifi is available.

Some thoughts ....

Today I walked from Sarria beginning the countdown to Santiago.  There has been much that wasn't expected ... But that's the Camino.  I have certainly learned a lot from making this journey and I know there is much to come.

Today we walked much further, and a much more difficult terrain than expected.  The climbs were steep and the villages and stopping places much further than our guidebook indicated.

We thought we would not make it.  We each carried our packs and the weight bore down on us. Our feet, our shoulders, and our backs were asking for rest.  We did stop a couple of times but it was simply not enough.  We needed to get to a refuge and we both knew it. We were no longer any help to each other.  It is an interesting dynamic to observe what happens when we believe we are out of resources and have no further options.  I observed the way we each began to round up our individual resources to make it to our destination.  When in pain, and with the fear of not making it, we became single minded.  It was difficult to consider anything accept our own needs. We became protective and lost the larger vision.

Earlier in the day as we walked through small, two house villages, we were approached by an elderly woman running out of her house calling "Ola" with a dish of freshly made crepes that she sprinkled with sugar, folded with her fingers and handed one to each of us. We were open and so cordial.  She let us take a picture of her dish of crepes but not of her.  

Manuel and Docenda

Manuel

Last evening we walked the streets meeting a couple of the Village residents.  Manuel, an elderly gentleman greeted us with a warm smile.  We interacted through the language barrier with smiles, touch and gentle inviting eyes.  I snapped a quick picture of him and showed him his likeness.  His face lit up and now he welcomed Dennis taking a picture of me with him.  It was a magical moment.  We continued on and an elderly woman who had been walking before us, in and out of shadows, as if wondering who these strangers were on this quiet back road.  She obviously saw us interact with Manuel and now she positioned herself so that we not only would see her but we would walk directly toward her.  We approached carefully, smiled and greeted her gently.  Love comes in many forms. Greeting these simple

Docenda

beautiful people who are filled with curiosity about these pilgrims from all over the world who sometimes leave the worn path and spill into the less traveled roads near their  homes is such a sacred privilege.  Again a picture, the sharing of a name, Docenda, so priceless, so intimate, so precious and then that smile beyond the smile of greeting.  That wider deeper smile that reveals one's soul and soft spots.  That's what it means to me to be a pilgrim.  It means sharing the delight of Light.  O Thankfullness!