What I found on the CF

[MARSKA]

Maybe just coincidence or good fortune meeting the people I met ... Accepting, caring human beings searching for, well, searching.

I cannot recall ever being in a community of people who were so accepting, helpful, and loving as those with whom I had the good fortune to share the Camino this fall. And without conditions. A precious gift I will cherish forever.

I feel like my eyes have been opened. Now at home I weep inside when I hear people make unkind remarks to one another or show disrespect for different ideas or lifestyles. We can treat each other well! Why don't we? Why oh why?

In all honesty I kinda "poo-pooed" he Camino family thing. However, to my astonishment and delight I had not just one but several Camino families to nurture and to be nurtured by. I marvel at the dynamics of a Camino walk that fosters such an experience for so many people. We need the Camino ... I for one will rejoice at large numbers of pilgrims as it means more people are experiencing IT. Yes? No? Maybe? If they do it the way you think it should be done?

I am so very, very grateful. More than I can begin to express.

Kath

 

[Saint Mike II]

Hola @MARSKA So great to read a “good news” story. Really please to hear that you have had an enjoyable Camino. Cheers

 

[DoughnutANZ]

Maybe just coincidence or good fortune meeting the people I met ... Accepting, caring human beings searching for, well, searching.

I cannot recall ever being in a community of people who were so accepting, helpful, and loving as those with whom I had the good fortune to share the Camino this fall. And without conditions. A precious gift I will cherish forever.

I feel like my eyes have been opened. Now at home I weep inside when I hear people make unkind remarks to one another or show disrespect for different ideas or lifestyles. We can treat each other well! Why don't we? Why oh why?

In all honesty I kinda "poo-pooed" he Camino family thing. However, to my astonishment and delight I had not just one but several Camino families to nurture and to be nurtured by. I marvel at the dynamics of a Camino walk that fosters such an experience for so many people. We need the Camino ... I for one will rejoice at large numbers of pilgrims as it means more people are experiencing IT. Yes? No? Maybe? If they do it the way you think it should be done?

I am so very, very grateful. More than I can begin to express.

Kath

Nicely put.

 

[jungleboy]

After your What I lost on the camino thread, I totally thought this one was going to be about physical objects you found and used on your camino. Slightly disappointed! j/k

 

[davejsy]

I totally get this. I too walked my Camino this fall/autumn, and it was the most amazingly magical experience full of ups and downs, humbleness, amazing people, and almost unbelievable happenings. So much more than I could have ever imagined or expected (although I was careful to go with an open mind and heart).
And all of those cheesy Camino sayings you read about - well they are true!

 

[Scott Sweeney]

Maybe just coincidence or good fortune meeting the people I met ... Accepting, caring human beings searching for, well, searching.

I cannot recall ever being in a community of people who were so accepting, helpful, and loving as those with whom I had the good fortune to share the Camino this fall. And without conditions. A precious gift I will cherish forever.

I feel like my eyes have been opened. Now at home I weep inside when I hear people make unkind remarks to one another or show disrespect for different ideas or lifestyles. We can treat each other well! Why don't we? Why oh why?

In all honesty I kinda "poo-pooed" he Camino family thing. However, to my astonishment and delight I had not just one but several Camino families to nurture and to be nurtured by. I marvel at the dynamics of a Camino walk that fosters such an experience for so many people. We need the Camino ... I for one will rejoice at large numbers of pilgrims as it means more people are experiencing IT. Yes? No? Maybe? If they do it the way you think it should be done?

I am so very, very grateful. More than I can begin to express.

Kath

Nice to have met you also.

 

[TheBigT]

Wonderful observation. Thank you for sharing.

 

[trose]

Maybe just coincidence or good fortune meeting the people I met ... Accepting, caring human beings searching for, well, searching.

I cannot recall ever being in a community of people who were so accepting, helpful, and loving as those with whom I had the good fortune to share the Camino this fall. And without conditions. A precious gift I will cherish forever.

I feel like my eyes have been opened. Now at home I weep inside when I hear people make unkind remarks to one another or show disrespect for different ideas or lifestyles. We can treat each other well! Why don't we? Why oh why?

In all honesty I kinda "poo-pooed" he Camino family thing. However, to my astonishment and delight I had not just one but several Camino families to nurture and to be nurtured by. I marvel at the dynamics of a Camino walk that fosters such an experience for so many people. We need the Camino ... I for one will rejoice at large numbers of pilgrims as it means more people are experiencing IT. Yes? No? Maybe? If they do it the way you think it should be done?

I am so very, very grateful. More than I can begin to express.

Kath

I love reading this because your Camino was so similar to mine. I also walked the CF this fall, been home for 3 weeks, and reading your account reminds me of all the special people that I met. I can’t imagine having to deal with the emotional/physical highs and lows without the benefit of this community family. I have been fortunate to have had a Camino family on each of the Camino’s that I have walked and it is one of the reasons that I return as often as possible.

 

[howardd5]

Maybe just coincidence or good fortune meeting the people I met ... Accepting, caring human beings searching for, well, searching.

I cannot recall ever being in a community of people who were so accepting, helpful, and loving as those with whom I had the good fortune to share the Camino this fall. And without conditions. A precious gift I will cherish forever.

I feel like my eyes have been opened. Now at home I weep inside when I hear people make unkind remarks to one another or show disrespect for different ideas or lifestyles. We can treat each other well! Why don't we? Why oh why?

In all honesty I kinda "poo-pooed" he Camino family thing. However, to my astonishment and delight I had not just one but several Camino families to nurture and to be nurtured by. I marvel at the dynamics of a Camino walk that fosters such an experience for so many people. We need the Camino ... I for one will rejoice at large numbers of pilgrims as it means more people are experiencing IT. Yes? No? Maybe? If they do it the way you think it should be done?

I am so very, very grateful. More than I can begin to express.

Kath

When you are all walking the same way you have so much in common. You can reinvent yourself . You can be rich or you can be smart are everybody see you how you are. I like the term. “ show & tell” you get to ask a Pole about the economy , ask a Brit about music and talk to a French person about politics— all in one day—//

 

[SallGar]

Maybe just coincidence or good fortune meeting the people I met ... Accepting, caring human beings searching for, well, searching.

I cannot recall ever being in a community of people who were so accepting, helpful, and loving as those with whom I had the good fortune to share the Camino this fall. And without conditions. A precious gift I will cherish forever.

I feel like my eyes have been opened. Now at home I weep inside when I hear people make unkind remarks to one another or show disrespect for different ideas or lifestyles. We can treat each other well! Why don't we? Why oh why?

In all honesty I kinda "poo-pooed" he Camino family thing. However, to my astonishment and delight I had not just one but several Camino families to nurture and to be nurtured by. I marvel at the dynamics of a Camino walk that fosters such an experience for so many people. We need the Camino ... I for one will rejoice at large numbers of pilgrims as it means more people are experiencing IT. Yes? No? Maybe? If they do it the way you think it should be done?

I am so very, very grateful. More than I can begin to express.

Kath

Well said! My wife and I walked the Camino this fall and found exactly what you did. We are in our mid-70's, so were among the very slowest - which didn't bother a soul. If fact, quite a few people would slow their pace to ask how we were and if they could help us in any way. For those times when we did need some help (usually after a fall), someone was at our side helping within 5 minutes or so. It was amazing. While we didn't walk the entire CF, we did make 250 miles of it starting in SJPDP. The real test of 'the Camino provides' came when my wife fell with only 40 km to go to Santiago. I was holding on to her, so kept her company as we both hit the ground. I escaped with a chipped tooth; she actually broke her leg. Our fellow pilgrims - whom we had just met - sprang into action. They carried her back to the top of the hill, called an ambulance, and stayed with her to help explain to the emergency crew. What an amazing experience and what amazing people we met. I'm hoping we can return next year to finish what we missed. How blessed we feel to have had this opportunity.

 

[Lexicos]

The camino is very special, any camino. That's why many of us pilgrims go again and again.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it Marska, and got a lot from it. It stays with you for a long, long time.

 

[walkingstu]

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” Mark Twain

 

[Marianne Hansen]

Maybe just coincidence or good fortune meeting the people I met ... Accepting, caring human beings searching for, well, searching.



I cannot recall ever being in a community of people who were so accepting, helpful, and loving as those with whom I had the good fortune to share the Camino this fall. And without conditions. A precious gift I will cherish forever.



I feel like my eyes have been opened. Now at home I weep inside when I hear people make unkind remarks to one another or show disrespect for different ideas or lifestyles. We can treat each other well! Why don't we? Why oh why?



In all honesty I kinda "poo-pooed" he Camino family thing. However, to my astonishment and delight I had not just one but several Camino families to nurture and to be nurtured by. I marvel at the dynamics of a Camino walk that fosters such an experience for so many people. We need the Camino ... I for one will rejoice at large numbers of pilgrims as it means more people are experiencing IT. Yes? No? Maybe? If they do it the way you think it should be done?



I am so very, very grateful. More than I can begin to express.



Kath

 

[Marianne Hansen]

I too am grateful to experience The Camino Life. Since my first Camino I was hooked and have returned 3 times . The Camino gave ne a new outlook on what is important in life. I have never been the same since. Thank you all you pilgrims out there .

Marianne