on being a (more) broken pilgrim

[andy.d]

I was walking The Cistercian Way this autumn and hurt my knee. It was bad enough to have to pull out for 4 weeks. As part of my report and reflection on the route, I have written a bit on the experience of this injury and convalescence here:

https://pilgrimpace.wordpress.com/2...way-on-becoming-a-more-broken-pilgrim-part-2/

I hope this might be of help to others who can't walk. I'd also be interested to know if this chimes in with anyone else's experience of injury.

Andy

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

Thanks for posting this Andy. Your experience resonated deeply with my own Healing Camino following a foot fracture on the Francés last year.

Yes, yes, yes to all your insights. A great lesson in acceptance, frailty, impermanence and interdependence. A hard lesson for us outdoorsy types who are used to being self-reliant and physically capable - and very much on the move.

The Sufi Mystics had a way of so simply expressing great truths. Hafiz is a great favourite of mine and this, from Rumi, echoes much of your reflections - and mine -
Whatever God gives you, be content. At the very moment you become content in affliction, the door of paradise will open.

I'll leave you with another saying from a Buddhist teacher of mine that he sent me during a particularly dark time on my journey when I thought that I might never be able to go hiking again:
Three Marks of Existence
Suffering.
Impermanence.
No-self.

"Street" version by Jon Kabat-Zinn:
Sh*t happens.
Everything changes.
It's not about you, anyway.

Look forward to reading the continuation of your healing blog and so glad that you are back on your feet and walking again.

The analogy of a (more) broken pilgrim is a beautiful label. So apt for this unexpected and uninvited journey. As Hemingway said: The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong in the broken places.

 

[freescot]

I've followed your blog for some years, Andy, and recognise in your posts the familiar joys and struggles of a pilgrim. And thanks, Wokabau_Meri for all that wisdom: a wonderfully apt collection of sayings for us all.
Yes, it all fits in to my own experience and the image that came to my mind when I first found walking difficult - also with an injured knee - was that of the weak little antelope barely keeping up with all the rest, about to be picked off by a lion while all the herd fled to safety. The reality, for me, has not been so swift or dramatic as that though. My capacity to walk has steadily declined each year with more arthritis and increasingly frequent arrhythmias. All the necessary adjustments like slowing down, asking for help, renouncing personal objectives, not reaching destinations, accepting vulnerability and smiling......letting go and being content with what is... all are part of the spiritual journey as the physical and spiritual blend as one.
Thank you, Andy, for sharing in your blog this year's hardship which I'm sure echoes for many readers.

 

[mspath]

In times of moral or physical stress and hardship comfort may be read in the eternal truths of Ecclesiastes 3, 1-8.

Additionally more recent poetic words of determination help provide our broken souls with necessary timeless will.

"...and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield...."
Ulysses by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

And thus we continue to hope.

 

[Mumalby]

Thank you Andy for your inspiration. A recent spinal injury has put my Camino on hold until maybe 2018. Whilst those around me think it is impossible, Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," drives me to believe it will happen!

 

[andy.d]

Thanks everyone for those comments - really helpful and insightful.
My knee seems better now. I am back at work. The journey continues