Bozzie
Continuing to walk my camino daily. Blessings!
Fellow Pilgrims, past, present and future...
This is a poem that means a lot to me, so I want to share it with you.
A "walking" prayer for you:
May I walk this day
in the realm of grace,
walking with You
my feet firmly on your earth-path,
my heart loving all as kindred,
my words and deeds alive with justice.
May I walk as blessing,
meeting blessing at every turn
in every challenge, blessing,
in all opposition, blessing,
in harm’s way, blessing.
May I walk each step in this moment of grace,
alert to hear You
and awake enough to say
a simple Yes.
- Robert Corin Morris
This pretty much says it all for me. My walk across Spain, starting in SJPP this past Fall, was not only a profound experience, but transforming. My life will never be the same. What I thought I wanted in setting out on this trek was to "be closer to God." What I found was that I sought to be closer to myself...the God within me. As I struggled through the first days - through torrential rain, winds that almost blew me off the path and feelings of defeat - I wanted to quit. But each morning I got up, put on my boots and kept walking. I met pilgrim "angels" along the Way who reminded me (no matter how hard I fought it!) that I could do this...I was stronger than the Camino. I had trained on the flat land of Dallas which was no help climbing up the kind of mountains and hills that I encountered. There is a saying...you begin to be thankful for the flat places!! It's true. As the days passed, I became thankful for everything...the blue sky, my boots, my walking sticks, my parents, family, friends...my spiritual inheritance. And then I became thankful for the mountains and hills! The greeting of "Buen Camino" I shared with the other pilgrims as we passed each other became a sacred blessing. My time with God as I walked alone (hey! I was slower than most going up those inclines!) became so treasured that I didn't feel bad anymore, being the last to arrive or the one everyone passed. I began to realize that I was exactly where I was supposed to be...and was evolving with each day I was there. One step at a time. At the bars in the villages I would share times with other pilgrims, meeting up with friends to have a bocadilla or the ever-present cafe con leche. I met such great people, some of whom will be life-long friends, I am sure! The kind Spaniards who came out of their homes to show us the Way when we got lost or to give us directions to this or that albergue or pension, the amazing kindness shown by pilgrims to each other, all showed me the kind of world I want to live in. One of kindness to all, not judging, greeting each day as a blessing...even the tough ones. Greeting each person as a blessing! These things I will cherish for the rest of my life.
People have asked me what I learned walking the Camino. My Camino taught me many things, one of which was that I have to "show up" for God if I am to co-create my life with God, which I believe we are called to do. (If this is not so, then why do we have freedom of choice?) Life is not a one-way street, even with God. I always believed that, but didn't always act on it. I let my "humanness" bear the brunt of not showing up. I know I won't always show up all of the time, even now, but I hope that the spiritual rhythm I learned on the Camino will continue to help guide me daily to that sacred place I meet with God. For there I find the love I am to receive and to give to others.
This is my story of my Camino. Yours will be yours. You will experience what you are supposed to experience if you're open enough to it. Go with few expectations, if any. Go with an open mind and heart. Whether you are a believer in God or not, you will be transformed. You may not know it right away, but you will.
Blessings and Buen Camino,
Dee Anne
"Bozzie"
This is a poem that means a lot to me, so I want to share it with you.
A "walking" prayer for you:
May I walk this day
in the realm of grace,
walking with You
my feet firmly on your earth-path,
my heart loving all as kindred,
my words and deeds alive with justice.
May I walk as blessing,
meeting blessing at every turn
in every challenge, blessing,
in all opposition, blessing,
in harm’s way, blessing.
May I walk each step in this moment of grace,
alert to hear You
and awake enough to say
a simple Yes.
- Robert Corin Morris
This pretty much says it all for me. My walk across Spain, starting in SJPP this past Fall, was not only a profound experience, but transforming. My life will never be the same. What I thought I wanted in setting out on this trek was to "be closer to God." What I found was that I sought to be closer to myself...the God within me. As I struggled through the first days - through torrential rain, winds that almost blew me off the path and feelings of defeat - I wanted to quit. But each morning I got up, put on my boots and kept walking. I met pilgrim "angels" along the Way who reminded me (no matter how hard I fought it!) that I could do this...I was stronger than the Camino. I had trained on the flat land of Dallas which was no help climbing up the kind of mountains and hills that I encountered. There is a saying...you begin to be thankful for the flat places!! It's true. As the days passed, I became thankful for everything...the blue sky, my boots, my walking sticks, my parents, family, friends...my spiritual inheritance. And then I became thankful for the mountains and hills! The greeting of "Buen Camino" I shared with the other pilgrims as we passed each other became a sacred blessing. My time with God as I walked alone (hey! I was slower than most going up those inclines!) became so treasured that I didn't feel bad anymore, being the last to arrive or the one everyone passed. I began to realize that I was exactly where I was supposed to be...and was evolving with each day I was there. One step at a time. At the bars in the villages I would share times with other pilgrims, meeting up with friends to have a bocadilla or the ever-present cafe con leche. I met such great people, some of whom will be life-long friends, I am sure! The kind Spaniards who came out of their homes to show us the Way when we got lost or to give us directions to this or that albergue or pension, the amazing kindness shown by pilgrims to each other, all showed me the kind of world I want to live in. One of kindness to all, not judging, greeting each day as a blessing...even the tough ones. Greeting each person as a blessing! These things I will cherish for the rest of my life.
People have asked me what I learned walking the Camino. My Camino taught me many things, one of which was that I have to "show up" for God if I am to co-create my life with God, which I believe we are called to do. (If this is not so, then why do we have freedom of choice?) Life is not a one-way street, even with God. I always believed that, but didn't always act on it. I let my "humanness" bear the brunt of not showing up. I know I won't always show up all of the time, even now, but I hope that the spiritual rhythm I learned on the Camino will continue to help guide me daily to that sacred place I meet with God. For there I find the love I am to receive and to give to others.
This is my story of my Camino. Yours will be yours. You will experience what you are supposed to experience if you're open enough to it. Go with few expectations, if any. Go with an open mind and heart. Whether you are a believer in God or not, you will be transformed. You may not know it right away, but you will.
Blessings and Buen Camino,
Dee Anne
"Bozzie"
