The first steps of our Camino de Santiago have begun. We have newly arrived in Spain and are navigating a change in culture, climate and daily activity. As a talisman to launch us into the unknown, I thought I would share this beautiful poem by a Lutheran pastoral counsellor named Pat, in honour of the pilgrims that have passed along these trails before us.
Hot blazing sun.
Brilliant blue sky.
There is a passion to life here.
And Sanctuary.
And there is dust.
It clings to my shoes
Socks
pant legs.
I can smell it,
and taste it
and I remember others…
Others have walked here
hundreds
thousands
hundreds of thousands
in years gone past.
They walked
in honour of the Christ,
in penance for past sins,
in pledge for future graces,
or simply as members of two families.
And I have walked here.
In the hot blazing sun,
under the brilliant blue sky,
surrounded by others
of varied age and ages.
There is a passion of life here
And there is dust, sacred dust.
And I am part of it.
And it is part of me.
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