An itch to be scratched

Le Puy en Velay

Robin and I have been casting about trying to decide where our next camino journey will take us. We have twice been down the Camino Frances in winter, and have enjoyed both of those pilgrimages immensely. However, one hitch has always been Robin's choir schedule. She sings with St. Mary's Cathedral Choir in Portland, and has been there for close to ten years. We have tried to accommodate her choir schedule by nestling our caminos in between Christmas and Easter. Having said that, on our first pilgrimage, we did spend Christmas on the camino. This coming year Robin would like to sing straight through Easter Sunday. So, for the moment, our plan is to leave for Europe a couple of days after Easter, and head to Le Puy en Velay. We have conjured up an itinerary that has great appeal as it will take us through both France and Spain with lots of varied terrain, beautiful scenery, and will lead us back to Santiago. The route we are planning will take us from Le Puy to St. Jean Pied de Port, then via the GR 10 hiking trail to Irun where we will walk the Camino Norte until it intersects with the Camino Primitivo which we will then follow to the Camino Frances, then on to Santiago. This is, for us, an ambitious undertaking. The main concern, at the moment, is adapting to walking in hot weather. Robin definitely prefers cool weather to hot weather. In truth I do as well, but I know I can walk in warmer (even hot) weather. Robin is less sure. We will be leaving Le Puy late in April so that bit is okay. We will be walking the Norte, and Primitivo in June, and July. Our hope is that both of those routes will be a bit cooler due to proximity to the coast, and the higher elevations of the mountain passes. We will see. All pilgrimages have challenges to be embraced. I feel certain this one will be no different. The month of May on the Le Puy route will certainly be crowded (this will be new to us). The Norte and Primitivo routes are gaining popularity so there might be more pilgrims there as well. The heat, the rain, the cold (in the early days), even the crowds are all things that can lead to one of those "why am I doing this" moments. We all have them at some point in a pilgrimage. The trick is to acknowledge them for just what they are, then offer up a tip of the hat, and move on. Easier said then done? Of course, but still doable. That is the practice (learning to follow your heart, not your ego) of being on pilgrimage. 

The restless heart

It is now six months since returning from the Camino, and our pilgrim spirits are still in full bloom. I was doing some reading this morning and was struggling to pay attention to the text. My mind was cycling back and forth from the book to the Camino. This then got me thinking about restlessness and yearning. Curiously, the book I was reading was about Catholic spirituality, and the section I was trying to focus on was explaining that the Spirit within us is always restless until the journey Home is complete. Many confuse this restlessness of heart with a general feeling of emptiness that they try to fill in the only way familiar to them, self indulgence. These superficial solutions always leave us worse off as we fail to understand, and properly respond to, what our hearts are truly crying out for. Our trips to the Camino have been motivated by a call of faith. This has not been a trumpet blast, but rather a more subtle sense of being lovingly guided. We choose to place ourselves on pilgrim roads to strengthen, and practice not only our faith, but also our humility. The journey's recompense is, hopefully, found in the incremental increase of love, wisdom, and courage sufficient for the journey Home. The restlessness Robin and I sense is the urgency to be closer to God, not just in thought or word but, more importantly, in deed. Walking pilgrim roads, in our experience, helps a great deal in this regard. It is simply where we feel we need to be, and want to be. BTW it is also a lot of fun.

Coincidentally, (but perhaps not) a hymn (Healing River of the Spirit) that was sung at mass this morning included (in part) these timely words.

Weary from the restless searching that has lured us from your side, we discover in your presence peace the world cannot provide.

All the world is torn by conflict; wars are raging at this hour. Saving Spirit move among us, guide our winding human course, till we find our way together, flowing homeward to our Source.

Finding our peace lies in finding the path to the inner door of our heart. In that interior silence we can awaken to a sacred space that enables us to hear the voice guiding us home to our Source. We just have to learn to listen. That is the hard part and, yes, it takes practice.

Peace, love, and buen camino,

John and Robin

A good start to the day

I have always loved Willie Nelson's voice, and his music. This morning, over coffee, I found myself browsing music videos and came across some I really liked, so here they are. Enjoy!

St. James The Pilgrim

Today we brought home an icon we commissioned with Mary Katsilometes, a Portland (Oregon) based iconographer. Mary has been working for years on several very large panels for a local Catholic church (Resurrection Parish), and her work caught our eye. Her work is breathtaking both in quality and in scale. We contacted her, and she kindly agreed to make time for St. James. We quickly reached an agreement, and set the process in motion. Today, some two months (or so) later we dropped by Mary's house/studio and picked up St. James. He is beautiful. Icons are to be blessed, and then are worthy of veneration. We will pursue this process with St. Mary's Cathedral in Portland. For now Robin and I feel blessed to have St. James under our roof. We have ongoing camino plans and as expected St. James will be asked to guide and protect us on our future journeys. St. James, pray for us, and for all pilgrims.

Winter Camino 2013 Slideshow

Robin finished this slideshow last night. It covers our walk down the Camino Frances, to Finisterre and Muxia, and the Camino Ingles. We started walking on Dec 31, 2012 and finished on Feb 18, 2013.

Enjoy the show.

Can you drink the cup?

I was reading a spiritual reflection the other day from the Henri Nouwen Society, and it referenced a scripture passage (Mt 20, 20) where the mother of James and John, was asking Jesus for special consideration for her sons. He responded, knowing what his future held in store, by asking "Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?" This is an interesting question for all of us. Let's open this up a bit. As this blog is about our times, and reflections on the Camino, lets start there.

The Camino experience places a pilgrim in a new and challenging environment. It requires many things from those who walk it. These include a willingness to be open to change, acceptance of one's companions, one's surroundings, one's own shortcomings and those of others, tolerance of discomfort, pain, and adverse weather just to name a few. Pilgrims set out on this journey knowing the challenges, but most expect they will complete the journey, and enjoy it. This vision of success and pleasure are companion themes in most of our lives. We simply expect things will work out, and we will enjoy our lives to boot. Let's hope so.  But, what if that is not the case? What then?

 My point is that in life, and the Camino is a microcosm of life, we each have a vision of who we are, the things that we will do, and how we see our lives unfolding. It is a given that anyone can be cheerful when life favors them, and everything is going according to plan (whatever that is). We can easily drink that cup. But what happens when life becomes less certain, success eludes us, we lose a job, our health fails us, or some other disappointment befalls us. What then? How do we react to that change? Do we turn bitter and reproachful? Do we search for someone to blame? Do we feel abandoned? Does our faith weaken? We can conjure up many ways to proclaim and celebrate the joys, and successes in our lives, but what of those days when the clouds gather, and thicken. Are we pulled to change into different people? Do we forsake happiness, and succumb to despair? Is that all that is left for us? The "cup of life" that has been given to us is still ours to drink, but can we do it? Do we have the faith to joyfully follow, not just accept, whatever path has been set out before us, regardless of the outcome? All that we do in life celebrates and consecrates the life (with its joys and sorrows) that God has given us. This is true whether we are walking the Camino or living our lives at home. Life is a locus of change. Our constantly evolving world can be confusing, and disorienting if success is our only compass, and the sole measure of our happiness. Embracing the cup of life, our cup, the cup of our salvation, and all that comes with it, and drinking of it fully, proclaims to all, as a wise priest once shared, that we are not called to be successful, but are simply called to be faithful. This is where true peace is found.

Buen Camino

The Camino continues to captivate and beckon