Woke up this morning wanting a lighter day, meditatively, to go with the light walking day I had. In order to time my arrival in Santiago to this Friday, my tour guide broke a normal walking day into two very easy days, of 15km today and 14.5km tomorrow. I got on the road at the normal time of about 8:15, but then really reigned in the urge to move. I realized that I’ve spent a lot of time “working” and not quite as much time relaxing, taking in the sights, and opening myself to the “joy of life” as I’d like. Decided to relax, and let joy reign.
As I walked along, I realized that while I’ve gotten lots of pictures of churches from the outside, I haven’t been able to get inside very many. I turned my attention inward/outward and thought, I’d really like to see some churches inside today. Didn’t worry about it, because I was letting joy lead the day. Ended up getting into three churches, one of them dating to the thirteenth century.  Think about that. I’m standing in a church that was built before anyone on this part of the globe even knew the land we call the USA existed. How’s that for perspective? The icons and statuary in it were in the Gothic style. Unfortunately there was a no photo sign and the padre was sitting right there. He was a younger priest so didn’t want to push my luck … you know how they are … Kidding.
Walked over some bridges that hail from Roman times. They’re arched where they go over the stream/river, but the walkway is a straight line up, then a straight line down … very cool.
Like I said, I didn’t want to spend any time thinking about weightier things today, so I focused on joy. For me joy is not happiness, contentment, or quiet satisfaction, but contains all those things. For it to become joy, there has to be the addition of the Indescribable. You know, that little something that takes happiness and contentment to the level where everything is perfectly balanced, even in the midst of the storm. The problem with it, is that right when you become aware that you’re in the joy bullseye, it vanishes. You can’t conjure it up, you can’t hang on to it. You just have to accept it when it shows up. I do think you have a better shot of entering the circle with a daily habit of opening your heart and being grateful for everything that comes your way, but that’s me … do your best.

Annette Bishop writes: “I have wanted to work with hospice since becoming a nurse in 1992. I have worked in hospice care since 1999 and with St. Elizabeth for five years. As I have discovered, many hospice co-workers, like myself, had a significant loss as a child. My father died when I was eleven. His younger children were not allowed into the ICU, even when they knew he was actively dying. Hospice care has so much improved the dying process for patients and families. I’ve had five family members use hospice services since 1999, and each death was peaceful and the family was wonderfully supported. I feel privileged to provide this same support for others”.

If you haven’t had time yet, please consider a small gift to the St. Elizabeth Hospice Center. My goal/desire was to get as many people as possible to give $5. On the website go to the Help St. E page, scroll to the bottom, and follow the link. In the “other” box put your $5 donation, and directly below that box, drill down the menu and choose Walk with E. That let’s us track the contributions made through this effort. Thank you for your support.

Buen Camino