Gratitude

[Anniesantiago]

A pilgrim is grateful . A tourist demands. . . My thoughts on the topic:

A Pilgrim is Grateful . . .

The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage, and nearly every Spanish person I've spoken to feels that way. Though some folks m...

caminosantiago2.blogspot.com

 

[David]

I SO agree Annie. ❤
The other problem I find around me and on Camino, apart from the lack of a constant gratitude for the miracle of it all and our just, well, being here .... is this modern desire for instant gratification ... with that mindset there is no awareness of process, of time, of becoming through process ..... 'want it now' 'want it like this' etc.

This from a film (Morgan Freeman as God) - but it is so true ....

 

[wayfarer]

If all these services were free then I would indeed be grateful and not complain but when I pay hard earned money for them I would expect to be treated with respect and get the service I pay for. This saying is often used as a let off for bad service IMO.
What I am grateful for is the beauty of the Camino, the generosity and kindness of the people you meet and the sense of belonging.

 

[mspath]

There is so very much to be grateful for...
On every camino there are stretches which seem to be in another world. Past are the hoards of camera-clicking tourists and/or pilgrims as well as any urbane atmosphere with a bar at every corner. All is reduced to simple basics when alone on a seemingly endless gravel path beneath the vast dome of an immense sky. The only sound is the companionable crunch of your boots and perhaps distant birdsong.

Happily while tramping along and alone I often sensed that special moment when everything 'clicks' realizing that this is, indeed, the way and that all is and will be good. ...Perhaps such secular transcendence felt while walking might be akin to what runners call 'the zone'. Your body can handle the task while your spirit glows with the effort. Neither easy, nor impossible; all simply is. ...Thus, thankful to be alive and able to move, gratefully you continue. Ultreia.

 

[OzAnnie]

This is a perfect blog post Annie .
It reminds us that there is ‘sooo much’ to be grateful for . Shame that some people overlook this.

 

[Anniesantiago]

I SO agree Annie. ❤
The other problem I find around me and on Camino, apart from the lack of a constant gratitude for the miracle of it all and our just, well, being here .... is this modern desire for instant gratification ... with that mindset there is no awareness of process, of time, of becoming through process ..... 'want it now' 'want it like this' etc.

This from a film (Morgan Freeman as God) - but it is so true ....

View attachment 66685

I love this quote. I've always said, I prayed for patience and got a son. Then I prayed HARDER for patience and got another. After the third son, I quit praying for patience and began learning it. lol!

 

[John Sikora]

When you start any Camino you want something to sooth your feet, a nice bed, and some good food at the end of the day, after enjoying the solitude.

Around the middle of any Camino you want your feet to stop hurting, any bed will do, and the standard pilgrim meal will do just fine, and you bid your new friends goodnight.

Towards the end of any Camino you thank your god(s) for the lack of blisters, you can sleep on a hard floor, the best meal you’ve ever had was the handful of just picked grapes that a local farmer gave you, and each goodbye is a shared email address and a hope that you will cross paths in the future, followed by the sadness of a separation from someone whom you’ve shared a part of your life with.

 

[Priscilla NC]

This is so wonderful, Annie. I think I do pretty well in going with the flow, but I still have miles to go to get into gratitude this deep and wide.

US Thanksgiving is a couple of weeks away. This will be my meditation through then!

I'm grateful for you and your wisdom.

 

[Anniesantiago]

This is so wonderful, Annie. I think I do pretty well in going with the flow, but I still have miles to go to get into gratitude this deep and wide.

I'm grateful for you and your wisdom.

Thanks Priscilla.
Oh... I struggle and really WORK at some of these.
They don't just come naturally. lol!
My natural state is to say what comes to my mind without boundaries and worry about the consequences later. I also talk waving my Portuguese hands in the air, which a lot of people translate as me being upset, when I'm just being normal . But I'm a work in progress, and I do try . . .

 

[LTfit]

Amen.

 

[PilgrimJames]

A pilgrim is grateful . A tourist demands. . . My thoughts on the topic:

A Pilgrim is Grateful . . .

The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage, and nearly every Spanish person I've spoken to feels that way. Though some folks m...

caminosantiago2.blogspot.com

Wonderful Annie
I live each day with the overwhelming feeling of gratitude I felt at the Cruz de Ferro and again when I touched that metal mesh sign with the red letters spelling "Santiago de Compostela" when I arrived on the outskirts of the city. How blessed am I to have walked the Camino Frances after decades of hope. And yes, I continue to trip up and need to remind myself of this. Your words capture so much that I feel but never put into words. A gift. Gracias pilgrim

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I love this quote. I've always said, I prayed for patience and got a son. Then I prayed HARDER for patience and got another. After the third son, I quit praying for patience and began learning it. lol!

I quit after having two sons...guess I should'a prayed for a third!

 

[domigee]

A pilgrim is grateful . A tourist demands. . . My thoughts on the topic:

A Pilgrim is Grateful . . .

The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage, and nearly every Spanish person I've spoken to feels that way. Though some folks m...

caminosantiago2.blogspot.com

Very nicely put!

 

[Annette london]

Thanks Priscilla.
Oh... I struggle and really WORK at some of these.
They don't just come naturally. lol!
My natural state is to say what comes to my mind without boundaries and worry about the consequences later. I also talk waving my Portuguese hands in the air, which a lot of people translate as me being upset, when I'm just being normal . But I'm a work in progress, and I do try . . .

Hi Annie,
Many of us struggle with a lot of these
However....as you so nicely put it........I am grateful for the smell of the cow shit.......reminds me of the home of my youth...
Like perfume to my nostrils ..I just breathe in the smell...love it!!
Best wishes
Annette

 

[Paul Corrin]

There is so very much to be grateful for...
On every camino there are stretches which seem to be in another world. Past are the hoards of camera-clicking tourists and/or pilgrims as well as any urbane atmosphere with a bar at every corner. All is reduced to simple basics when alone on a seemingly endless gravel path beneath the vast dome of an immense sky. The only sound is the companionable crunch of your boots and perhaps distant birdsong.

Happily while tramping along and alone I often sensed that special moment when everything 'clicks' realizing that this is, indeed, the way and that all is and will be good. ...Perhaps such secular transcendence felt while walking might be akin to what runners call 'the zone'. Your body can handle the task while your spirit glows with the effort. Neither easy, nor impossible; all simply is. ...Thus, thankful to be alive and able to move, gratefully you continue. Ultreia.

Well said!

 

[Anniesantiago]

Hi Annie,
Many of us struggle with a lot of these
However....as you so nicely put it........I am grateful for the smell of the cow shit.......reminds me of the home of my youth...
Like perfume to my nostrils ..I just breathe in the smell...love it!!
Best wishes
Annette

On man, me too!
I grew up on farms and around cows.
We call it 'Portagee perfume!" in my family.

When Joe and I drive from Oregon to the Central Valley, California, I roll down the windows to smell the cows and he wrinkles up his nose! LOL!

And there are so many HAPPY cows on the Camino - unlike the horrible feedlots where we torture cows here in the USA. Poor cows up to their knees in manure - stretching through hot fences to try to nibble green grass just out of their reach. It's awful. Makes me sad...a person shouldn't eat that meat or drink that milk, in my opinion. How can they not get diseased when the cows are so dis-eased. But that's my opinion...

I'm grateful for happy cows.

 

[Icacos]

’Portagee’

Nice to see the use of this term. I always wondered if it was a made up, not very legitimate word peculiar to my home island, and used to refer to Portuguese people.

We also have a mandarin type fruit called a portigal ... which still has me befuddled.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Nice to see the use of this term. I always wondered if it was a made up, not very legitimate word peculiar to my home island, and used to refer to Portuguese people.

We also have a mandarin type fruit called a portigal ... which still has me befuddled.

LOL! Well, it's ok for ME to say the word because I am Portuguese, but don't suggest you call anyone else that. :: What is your home island?

 

[Icacos]

LOL! Well, it's ok for ME to say the word because I am Portuguese, but don't suggest you call anyone else that. :: What is your home island?

Thanks for the heads up! I’m from an island in the West Indies.
That‘s all I’ll say.

 

[Pellicano Solitudinis]

I quit after having two sons...guess I should'a prayed for a third!

That's a good way to end up with twins.

 

[E V Waight]

A pilgrim is grateful . A tourist demands. . . My thoughts on the topic:

A Pilgrim is Grateful . . .

The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage, and nearly every Spanish person I've spoken to feels that way. Though some folks m...

caminosantiago2.blogspot.com

What a wonderful and well put together poem about our experience on the Camino de Santiago. Gratitude, a long forgotten virtue in what has become a "modern" fast paced "age of entitlement" where some people no longer want to earn their day's keep the "old fashioned way". Oh, what a breath of fresh air. Thanks Anniesantiago, for this wonderful piece of art and a reminder of what life should really be like.

 

[trecile]

Actually jerks demand. Both tourists and pilgrims can be grateful.

 

[Marbe2]

And today,
the Way is meant to be a way of penance
Not easy.
Not comfortable.
In other words, you are expected to suffer.
Pilgrimage: A religious journey; a holy expedition
Penance: Voluntary punishment, self-inflicted, as an outward expression of repentance for having done wrong…….?

Annie, I believe in being genuinely grateful! And it is a practice that we all can work on! And I agree that a pilgrimage is, or can be a holy journey! But we can have a pilgrimage of joy and mercy!

God is not looking for us to “voluntarily” punish ourselves …..we are God’s temples! God wants us to find him in our neighbor! One does not have to inflict pain on themselves to grow in holiness. God desires mercy and good works. To make a good pilgrimage, Look to help one’s fellow pilgrims, especially those who are struggling to get by, are hungry or sick along the way. Take time to talk to those older folks sitting outside looking for human contact, rather than racing to the next stop, buy a poorer pilgrimage a meal. Give up your lower bunk. Try to deescalate a situation in an albergue, etc.
Setting marathon goals and inflicting soreness and blisters does not bring us closer to God. We are saved solely by God’s mercy and we are called as pilgrims to be merciful to others.

Softening our hearts | Joan Chittister

www.joanchittister.org