The Camino de Santiago

The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage that begins in Southern France and ends at Santiago de Compostela in Northwestern Spain. The total distance of the Camino is 800 km and I hope to complete it in six weeks. The map of the route is shown at the bottom of this page.
"Life is a pilgrimage, and a pilgrimage is a life"
~Robert Ward, All The Good Pilgrims

The beginning of the journey

The beginning of the journey
St Jean Pied de Port

The destination

The destination
Cathedral in Santiago

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Some inspiration

FOR A NEW BEGINNING
In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.
For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.
It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.
Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.
Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is one with your life’s desire.
Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

From Benedictus: A Book of BlessingsBy John O'Donohue (Bantam Press 2007)

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