Coincidene/Serendipity on the Camino?

[Jennybelle]

We walked from St Jean to Santiago in June this year and we kept finding ourselves amazed by the power of the Camino! It was as if the things we really needed it provided for us. Maybe it was the law or attraction, maybe it was coincidence? I had painful sinuses and a blocked up nose one morning and found myself walking through a eucalyptus forest that afternoon and crushing some leaves really helped! The friendship group we formed on the trail wouldn't have met if we'd each made a single decision differently.

What serendipity or coincidences did you encounter on YOUR camino??

 

[StuartM]

I had a chance meeting with a woman in Triacastela who said something to me that, at the risk of sounding overly dramatic, pretty much changed the course of my life. It's a long story but what she told me to do saved my marriage.

A totally random meeting. I met her again one evening at Monte de Gozo and her advice saw me walk into Santiago in the middle of the night to finish the Camino by moonlight.

Coincidence maybe but they were very special moments that changed the course of my walk.

 

[mralisn]

My dear friend tells me, "The Camino brings to us that from which we run."

I believe it also takes from us that which we think we need.

In 2005, it brought her to me. We met briefly the first day out of SJPdP. A month later we walked hand in hand into SdC. By far the most impactful relationship of my life. Me from California. Her from Netherlands.

The Camino provided for the both of us.

Always trust in the arrows,
Simeon

 

[mspath]

As for camino coincidence and serendipity I could relate many examples, but here is a recent occurrence.

Last October an Italian woman and I slowly climbed up the alternate route from Valcarlos towards Roncevalles. To help take our minds from the endless mounting switchbacks I recounted the importance of serendipity or fortunate good chance on the camino (as well as in daily life). Imagine our mutual surprise when AS IF ON CUE there suddenly appeared beside us another pilgrim who enthusiastically shouted "Margaret !!"; this was an Australian guy whom I had first met crossing the Meseta the year before !!

We three were QUITE astonished by this coincidence and continued climbing up together! Five hours later while caught in a fierce wind we at last staggered breathless over the 1060 meter Ibaneta pass and peered into the tiny new chapel to glimpse the stained glass. Exhausted but joyous we then descended to the almost mythic monastery complex where we offered our thanks and soaked our very tired feet....Now I wonder what new fortuitous chance encounters will occur this year.

Margaret Meredith

 

[jennie]

As for camino coincidence and serendipity I could relate many examples, but here is a recent occurrence.

Last October an Italian woman and I slowly climbed up the alternate route from Valcarlos towards Roncevalles. To help take our minds from the endless mounting switchbacks I recounted the importance of serendipity or fortunate good chance on the camino (as well as in daily life). Imagine our mutual surprise when AS IF ON CUE there suddenly appeared beside us another pilgrim who enthusiastically shouted "Margaret !!"; this was an Australian guy whom I had first met crossing the Meseta the year before !!

We three were QUITE astonished by this coincidence and continued climbing up together! Five hours later while caught in a fierce wind we at last staggered breathless over the 1060 meter Ibaneta pass and peered into the tiny new chapel to glimpse the stained glass. Exhausted but joyous we then descended to the almost mythic monastery complex where we offered our thanks and soaked our very tired feet....Now I wonder what new fortuitous chance encounters will occur this year.

Margaret Meredith

camino is not a perfect paradise,BUT if you want to believe that good people are out there then this is "I think " the place to find good Samaritans ,kind souls and people of different backgrounds pulling together like a "civilized species "should, I am since last week an unemployed chef however on my last walk I met such a mix of great
people, botanist from Canada; musician from Ireland, medical student from Malaysia and countless more ,
this walk restores your faith in humans ,

 

[suekenney]

I believe the Camino is a metaphor for life and it brings to us not necessarily what we want but what we need. I've met so many incredible people on the Way in various serendipitous moments. One time I had started in Ponferrada with a group and I was walking out of the door of Brazilian albergue at Vega de Valcarce when I heard someone yell out my name. It was a pilgrim I had met back at home in Canada who had been walking from SJPP. When I think of all the things that had to line up for her to be there in front of me at that moment in time, it's astounding. And even though we can text, tweet and post about our whereabouts, I still find these serendipitous moments take place. Maybe it's a lesson in trust.

 

[pererin]

I am sure that there will be many theories for what you outline, some faith some fate others pure coincidence.

For me, key to all, is that you are open to what the Camino presents.

We all have our reasons for the journey, I suspect that as with life it is how we make our journey that is as important as the destination.

As for the wisdom and friendship of others, remember what you recieve is often a reflection of what you offer. How often do you hear from those who have no such experience and yet we can see the reason. If close your eyes and mind, you will always be blind.

Beun camino

 

[Lydia Gillen]

I have just started in Trinity College Dublin. To me it is a Camino of a different sort. I decided to think of the four years as four parts of the Camino: St. Jean to Pamplona, Pamplona to Burgos, Burgos to Leon and Leon to Santiago. As a mature student I had a week of IT at the beginning of September. I just could not keep up with the very much younger mature students and these were skills I would absolutely need. The next week of orientation for mature students was overwhelming with so much information being given to us hour after hour. I just could not manage to log into the computers. I kept ending up in the wrong place. Freshers week was a culture shock altogether. The 3-4 hours travel each day was also taking its toll. I said to myself ,"This is going over the Pyrenees, it has to get easier".

Then one day in the foyer to the Arts Building a young man says at me,"Aren't you the woman from Santiago?". I answered, "Why do you say that to me?". He said "Didn't I meet you in Santiago?

It all came back to me. I was walking home after my morning shift in the Pilgrim's Office when a young Irish pilgrim asked me the way to Roots and Boots albergue. He was hoping to get a job there after finishing the Camino. On later days I would meet him standing outside the Pilgrim Office handing out leaflets advertising the albergue.. So I knew for certain that the four years will be a Camino as I travel through and explore Philosophy and Theology and the library of books which we call the Bible, meeting such people as Plato and Aristotle, Agustine, Thomas Aquinas,Hans Kung, Yves Congar and so many many others.

Now with one week of lectures behind me, I joyfully set off each morning with a little rucksack on my back not knowing what challenges I will meet this day but knowing that God is at my side.

Buen Camino to you all..