Daily Dose (Nov 26 – 29)
TUESDAY NOV 26 —
On my Camino walk, I’ve been carrying Howard Thurman’s reminder, “There must be always remaining in every life, some place for the singing of angels, some place for that which in itself is breathlessly beautiful.”
And yes, this can feel like quite the enigma during days when limbs and joints supplicate (yes, pray) for a breather. Let’s just say, when I’m too fixated on what aches, it may not be easy to see anything that is beautiful.
And yet, on my walk here in the Galicia region of Spain, the gardener in me comes to life. And I go back into my years studying horticulture, before I began my garden design business. Remembering classes where we walked arboretums in the Seattle area, identifying and yes, talking with the trees.
I’ve been doing a good bit of that these last few days. Here, a scrolling landscape canvas of oak, chestnut, beech, ash, and Maritime pine. Blanketing the ranges of various mountains called the Galician-Leonean Massif.
Oh, and I learned a new word: Carballeiras are groves of oak trees that flourish along the Camino.
So yes, a Camino walk to embrace the ordinary, knowing it is the hiding place for the holy.
And in a way, the invitation to return to what grounds us and replenishes and sustains our spirit.
I’m always in favor of anything that invites (encourages) us to ask questions that make space for replenishing.
Gabrielle Roth’s reminder; in many shamanic societies, if you came to a shaman or medicine person complaining of being disheartened, dispirited, or depressed, they would ask one of four questions.
When did you stop dancing?
When did you stop singing?
When did you stop being enchanted by stories?
Meaning that at some point I inculcated myself with the notion that it wasn’t enough… to just dance, to sing, to be enchanted, to sit still.
Okay… back to the Camino, I can say that I’ve gratefully embraced the invitation to practice all four.
WEDNESDAY NOV 27 —
“When you desire to see the beauty and joy in everyday life; something magical happens; ordinary life becomes extraordinary, and the very process of life begins to nourish your soul.” Thank you, Jill Alman-Bernstein.
This week, we’re talking about (and embracing) seeing the holy in the ordinary.
On my Camino walk, now just a day from Santiago, I’ve found respite in Meister Eckert’s advice, “If you can only learn one prayer, make it this one: Thank you.”
Not a bad place to start when you put your backpack on. And, when you take it off.
This walk (yes, a pilgrimage, for me meaning discovery) for me has been about uncovering the ways gratitude has been concealed in parts of my life. And the healing and sustaining power it brings to the way I can now walk through my world.
Here’s the deal: Gratitude does not take away any of the difficult decisions or conundrums of our week. But it sure keeps us from looking in the rear-view mirror or around the next corner. Yes, one step at a time.
Gratitude allows us to live this life, and not the one we always figured that we’d trade this one in for.
Gratitude allows us to invest in what we can see, hear, taste, touch and smell in the moment. The sacrament of the present moment.
Gratitude allows us to partake in the joys of the everyday, to see the sacred in the very, very ordinary.
And gratitude helps us see that the sufficiency is not self-sufficiency, but that gratitude sees the connection, Ram Dass’ affirmation that we do indeed walk one another home.
Tomorrow, Thanksgiving for my family and friends back in the United States. Here in Spain, the Christmas lights are up, and carols can be heard playing as you walk around town. Let’s just say I won’t be surprised, walking into Santiago, that I’ll be humming (often loudly), “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.”
And I’m so grateful for those of you who let me know about Sabbath Moment typos. This one made me laugh out loud. “Hi Terry, I enjoy your Sabbath Moments and often share them with friends. Just a funny typo. Did you really walk across a Roman bride? Lol. Laughter is good for the soul. Blessings, Kay”
THURSDAY NOV 28 —
Today I walked into Santiago de Compostela. And followed the yellow arrows to the Cathedral. And no, the pictures you’ve seen don’t capture the gravitas when you enter the Obradoiro, where the Cathedral finally presents itself, reaching (quite literally), to the sky, and you smile knowing that this sight has been for at least twelve hundred years, a dream realization of every pilgrim that has walked the Camino de Santiago.
I sat on the Cathedral steps for a good while. I figured that if there was any place which invites the power of pause, this would be the one.
And I can tell you this: it is a very good to time to let yourself soak in the wonderment, and the amazement.
I confess to being in awe of the worn-down flagstones, now “smoothed” by millions of pilgrims over the centuries. My backpack may be quite modern and innovative, but this ancient and sacred rite has remained practically unaltered, for more than eleven centuries.
And this I learned: The Obradoiro Square is said to be named after the workshops (“obradoiros” in Galician) that were set up here during the building of the cathedral. Though to some it comes from “obra de biro” (work of gold) from the gold jewelry stands that used to sell Golden tokens from Santiago to the pilgrims.
And I had a wonderful moment in the day, to make me smile real big. In the final kilometer from the Cathedral, I passed by a crew working with a very loud leaf blower, and weed whacker. It is a perfect metaphor. As we mentally do our best to remove all dissonance and racket from sacred places. And yet. (Again, a memory from the church of my youth. As a ten-year-old, standing in the back after church was over, telling a joke with a friend, and being told, “Kids, be quiet, this is God’s house, and there’s no laughter in God’s house.”)
Well, I believe quite differently.
And one of the great lessons on this journey for me is this: Everyone (including every kind of state of mind or temperament) is welcome on the Camino (and in the Cathedral), or everyone is not.
So, I loved that the final bit of the walk goes through very, very normal parts of life, houses, laborers, work, noise, traffic. And I am able to gratefully bring that with me to a place of prayer and contemplation.
I enjoyed my time in the Cathedral today. Sitting. Reflecting. Journaling. Journaling, one of my modes of prayer. And I lit some candles. (The candles here, with real flames.)
Thank you for joining me on this pilgrimage. And thank you for being a part of Sabbath Moment. Onward together.
A blessed Thanksgiving to all. And for Thanksgiving day, let us take to heart this prayer from O. Eugene Pickett.
“For the expanding grandeur of creation, worlds known and unknown, galaxies beyond galaxies, filling us with awe and challenging our imaginations:
We give thanks this day.
For this fragile planet earth, its times and tides, its sunsets and seasons:
We give thanks this day.
For the joy of human life, its wonders and surprises, its hopes and achievements:
We give thanks this day.
For our human community, our common past and future hope, our oneness transcending all separation, our capacity to work for peace and justice in the midst of hostility and oppression:
We give thanks this day.
For high hopes and noble causes, for faith without fanaticism, for understanding of views not shared:
We give thanks this day.
For all who have labored and suffered for a fairer world, who have lived so that others might live in dignity and freedom:
We give thanks this day.
For human liberty and sacred rites; for opportunities to change and grow, to affirm and choose:
We give thanks this day.
We pray that we may live not by our fears but by our hopes, not by our words but by our deeds.
We give thanks this day.”
FRIDAY NOV 29 —
I’ve had a good number of people ask me about my Camino pilgrimage, and whether I’ve begun to “unpack” it. And it’s an understandable question, but I’m content letting the unpack take its sweet time.
So. Today was my post Camino Sabbath Day, for rest and replenishment.
And the permission to put down my pen.
Today, it is enough to savor the sunshine on the Cathedral.
To meander, ponder and smile at memories and moments of gratitude.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving seconds.
Hug someone you love. Tell them you are grateful.
Even if the hug is only virtual.
Or even if the hug is in memory.
Every single hug matters.
Thank you for letting me walk my pilgrimage with you.
I’m so grateful for the Sabbath Moment community.
Prayer for our week…
Prayer for the Camino
O God, who brought your servant Abraham out of the land of the Chaldeans, protecting him in his wanderings,
who guided the Hebrew people across the desert,
we ask that you watch over us, your servants, as we walk in the love of your name to Santiago de Compostela.
Be for us our companion on the walk,
Our guide at the crossroads,
Our breath in our weariness,
Our protection in danger,
Our albergue on the Camino,
Our shade in the heat,
Our light in the darkness,
Our consolation in our discouragements,
And our strength in our intentions.
So that with your guidance we may arrive safe and sound at the end of the Road and enriched with
grace and virtue we return safely to our homes filled with joy.
In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Apostle Santiago, pray for us.
Santa Maria, pray for us.
(An ancient prayer from the Codex Callixtinus, that comes at the end of the Pilgrim Mass said along the Camino de Santiago)
Photo… A common sight here in Spain, other Camino walkers on their way. She was going a wee bit faster than me, so when she went by, I snapped the vintage Camino image of the backpack and the gift that comes with taking the next step… I’m so grateful for your photos, please send them to [email protected]
