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Elephant in the room (forum)
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[QUOTE="capecorps, post: 109726, member: 12826"] I should not have phrased my question about the elephant in the room like a bull in a china shop. I do think that equipment is important. The question of how our delicate feet should be shod has been a preoccupation since we first stood up on the savanna and walked out of Africa through burning sands and freezing snows to populate the earth: “The shoes were waterproof and wide, seemingly designed for walking across the snow; they were constructed using bearskin for the soles, deer hide for top panels, and a netting made of tree bark. Soft grass went around the foot and in the shoe and functioned like warm socks. The shoes have since been reproduced by experts and found to constitute such excellent footwear that there are plans for commercial production.” Otzi’s shoes were the perfect hiking boot. But Otzi was murdered, shot through the heart by an arrow. And this, I think says something about us. It also says something about a religion that not only adjures us to do no harm to our fellow man, but invokes us to love him as ourselves. And then takes a truly gigantic step, and forgives Otzi’s murderer. I don’t have a point. I do have some questions. At times, the Camino prompted me to ask: who am I; why am I here; how should I live my life; where do I go when I die. Modern Western society appears to be the only society that has ever existed where religion has not been front row center. At Sima de las Palomase not so far away, Neanderthals buried their dead with ritual and ceremony. Of course, it was a lot easier for a Spanish farmer toiling to scratch a living for himself and his family from the hard unforgiving soil of the Camino mountainside to believe. Clad in his best hose and jerkin in the great Cathedral at Easter, his senses overwhelmed by the uplifting music of the organ, the mesmerizing Gregorian chant, the sun filtering through the stained glass windows, the soaring ceilings, the vestments of the clergy and yes, gifts of the wise men, the frankincense and myrrh of the botafumeiro, he must have thought: this is truly the House of God. By contrast, the quality of our daily distractions seem so alluring, so beguiling, so absorbing that they tend to crowd out serious reflection. It could be said that we have become like gods where at the touch of a button I transmit these thoughts of mine to you at this very moment as you sit at your computer in New York, Sydney, London, Cape Town ….. On the Camino with only the mountain and the blue sky for company, I was able to reflect. I come from an entire generation of Catholics who for a variety of reasons are so no longer. I could no longer deny the religion of my childhood. Sometimes, I saw Roman Catholicism intricately woven into the fabric of the Camino itself. I saw the Camino Francis as a cleansing fountain exquisitely designed to refresh the parched soul by graduated degrees to its final fulfillment in Santiago. It seemed to me that the churches on the Way corresponded to the Stations of the Cross, each emphasizing a different aspect of the Passion. It seemed to me that the churches were strategically placed so that they were the first thing that met your eye after a particularly arduous walk. A pilgrim of the past must have been overjoyed to see the church tower reaching towards heaven and hear the bells pealing. And before partaking of his mead, meat and rest, did he perhaps fall to his knees to quench his thirsting soul: [b]Take this, all of you, and drink from it: this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven. [/b] I was struck by the profound and moving imagery found, not only in the great cathedrals, but also in small village churches. This was not the sedate and sanitized Christ found in Canadian churches. This was an emaciated, bleeding and anguished Christ crying for us, forgiving us even as we whipped Him at the stake, nailed Him to the Cross and watched Him die. As if to drive home the point that it was men just like us, the men driving those huge spikes through His hands and feet were not always anonymous Roman soldiers, but Spaniards clad in the garb of the time. I thought about the New Testament narrative on the Camino. God came among us as one of us two thousand years ago. He advised us to conduct our lives in a manner that does not come naturally to us: turn the other cheek; give away your worldly goods; love your neighbor. So we killed Him. Then unlikely as it seems, eleven unlettered men of humble station (including St James) spread out from an obscure corner of the Empire and succeeded in convincing untold millions to live their lives in a way that does not appear to be natural to us. And we strove for fifteen hundred years to atone for killing God by raising great cathedrals in His name. We are however descendants not only of Otzi, but of his murderer as well. So we split Peter’s church into warring factions. Today, we have simply forgotten God: [b]Do this in memory of me[/b] Of course, you can’t think existentially all the time. I enjoy a good time as well as the next guy. Indeed, I had such a good time that I am already planning to go back this Spring. It would have been nice to have met a like mind that I could have discussed these thoughts with. But it was not to be. Who I met instead were surely the nicest people in the world. It put me in mind of the best of my hippy days travelling in Europe four decades ago. I think that the mindset that motivates someone to set off on the Camino is open, honest and adventurous. I think this is complemented by the Camino which is like a cocoon, set apart from ordinary day to day living. I think the combination of the two creates the good fellowship, caring, sharing and generosity of spirit shown by people of diverse backgrounds that is such a prevalent feature of the Camino. [/QUOTE]
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