Yesterday afternoon while going through what has become my normal travel routine; washing and rinsing travel clothes, then inventorying and straightening up the suitcase, I decided to employ a practice advocated by many spiritual traditions, but not used much in this modern age. I decided to fast during my walk today, which means I would not take any food until dinner tonight. It’s not an austere, self sacrificing thing. It’s a practical way to focus all of your energy; physically, mentally, and spiritually on a given task. By not attending to the bodies physical need for food, a person is able to redirect that energy toward the task at hand. If the body doesn’t need to support the internal organs that are digesting food, more blood is available to support the muscles being used to walk. Finally, doing without physical sustenance for a brief period, allows one to more fully engage the moment. I did take some juice and coffee early in the morning, but as soon as the sky began to lighten, I (along with many others) hit the trail for the last 19km of this incredible journey. I spent very little time taking photos today. Obviously didn’t stop to enjoy a cafe con leche. I only stopped for restroom breaks, and to stamp my credentials passport. I was sitting about 10km out at ten o’clock, when I remembered that someone told me there was a pilgrim’s mass at noon. I knew if I could hold my pace through the uphill and down, that I could get to the cathedral in two hours. I picked out a couple of young guys who were moving along at a good clip, and like running down I-75 to Florida, let them take the lead while I matched their pace. And wouldn’t you know, I made it. As I walked into St. James cathedral the mass was just starting. They welcome all the pilgrims in at least three if not four languages, English included. When I say that this church is big, what I really mean is ginormous. And it was packed. I had to stand off to the side, but was able to see what was going on. After standing there for a while, my legs were feeling the exertion from today, and not liking the idea of just standing, period. I went to the office of certification, and got my compostela, my certificate of completion. I am now officially a pilgrim. (I don’t know why everytime I say that in my head I hear John Wayne’s voice). After the mass let out, I spent about an hour touring around this incredible building. I did take some pictures from the outside, but I literally had to stand back 60-70 yards to get the whole front in a photo. It was a little too much for the iphone. Hopefully some of them will come out OK. On several occasions, for no apparent reason, my heart had words that could not be expressed, and so I leaked all over everything. I noticed a lot of people doing the same thing. It was a good moment.
I’ve tried to be very careful about respecting the fact that people from many different backgrounds might be reading this blog, but today, I wanted to share from my Catholic tradition. Since I hit Spain and started walking, I have been reading the book in the New Testament written by St. James, the apostle. It seemed appropriate given that I was walking to a church built in his honor, and the road I was walking is “The Road to St. James”. I was particularly struck by this verse. “If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit?” Or, to paraphrase, what good is that?  Along with a belief system that promotes an open heart of gratitude, we do need to actually do something to demonstrate that open heart. In this day and age, there are so many ways to get involved. You can give your time. You can give your money, if you don’t have time. You can give both. The bottom line is, we can all give back. It doesn’t have to be a lot. Whatever you have is good enough. It’s easy to stay uninvolved and blame someone else for the social problems that are all around us. But at the end of the day, we can all find a little time, or a little money to help the truly down and out. Think about it. Off to Finisterre tomorrow. I assume they will have wi-fi. If not, I’ll hit you on Sunday when I return to Santiago. Open your eyes and heart to the family that surrounds you. Be thankful for the friends in your life. Be good to each other.

Dr. Lawrence Brennan MD writes: “I helped start our hospice because there was a huge need for palliative services, and twenty-five years ago there was no one addressing  this need. Since then, hospice has grown and become much more accepted, though in Western societies many people still have difficulty understanding that the dying process is, in fact, part of the living process. I hope we do a good job of providing comfort care, and also comfort to people at the end of their life.”

Today rather than make an appeal, I am simply going to say “muchos gracias” to all of you who have answered my call to help the St. Elizabeth Hospice Center. So you know, on Saturday the 28th, a 150 mile walk is being walked out of Pee Wee’s Restaurant in Crescent Springs. HIs address is 2325 Anderson Rd. It’s off of Buttermilk Pike. There’s a BP  on the corner of Buttermilk and Anderson Rd. Turn away from the BP. It’s being walked in 5 mile legs for a total of 150 miles to match the 150 miles I walked. A donation of $10 per person is being asked, and all monies collected will go to the St. Elizabeth Hospice. If you can’t walk but would like to make a donation you can drop it off at Pee Wee’s. Again his address is 2325 Anderson Road, Crescent Springs, KY 41017. The first leg kicks off at 4:00 am the 28th, and there will be a leg starting every hour and fifteen minutes, with the last leg starting at 4:45pm on the 29th. Feel free to show up and join in. I intend to walk the first leg, and the last, and if I feel good, one in the middle. No reservation required. BTW, he makes a killer burger.

Buen Camino