Common Humanity

Though we walk the camino for countless reasons, and we come from many places, all those differences melt along the way - and astonishingly quickly. Rain falls on everyone the same way and blisters don't care about age, gender, race, or nationality. Status and wealth don't matter anymore, either, when everyone is ankle deep in sticky Rioja mud. There is only our common humanity in the face of the universal challenges of walking, and niether hate nor division have any part in that.

The preciousness of this keeps coming back to me today, after the heartbreaking and shocking news from Christchurch, and with a particular urgency. They are us, we are them. Whoever 'they' are. The Way has shown us that however different we seem on the surface, it is just surface.

I don't know where I'm going with this except to say to my brothers and sisters in (and from) NZ, kia kaha.
And to everyone...buen camino.
May we never forget glimpse of unity that the road has shown us, and find ways to bring it alive at home.
Te aroha, te whakapono, me te rangimarie, tatou tatou e - Love, faith, and peace for us all

Awwwww, thank you, @LTfit. I do tend to go on about this, I have to admit.
The heartening thing is that I'm not the only one.
I'm guessing that this is the main epiphany of the Camino for a lot of people...