“And in the passage from the cradle to the grave we are born, madly dancing. Rushing headlong through the crashing of the days we run on and on without a backwards glance. We run on and on without a backwards glance” Dan Fogelberg (In The Passage)
Metaphors
What is a metaphor? It’s something used, or regarded as being used, to represent something else; emblem, symbol. That is what El Camino de Santiago was to me; and I’m sure to many others who have gone before me. Like many things we experience in life, if we pause to ponder the deeper meaning we often are blessed with tremendous insight that was hidden at first glance.
I would like to share with you the metaphor of The Camino. Let’s begin with the name; translated meaning “The Way”. Who isn’t the looking for the way? I believe the answer for everyone is “all day, every day”. There’s the right way, the wrong way, the way you make me feel, the way to riches, the way to happiness, the simplest way, the way to enlightenment, the way of life, going all the way, the gentle way, the rough way, the other way, any which way, the helpful way, no other way, one way, another way, my way, your way, make way; and the list goes on and on. And of course, because this was a spiritual journey, there is also one who declared, “I am The Way, The Truth and The Life”.
Reasons
Some have asked where I came up with the thought or idea of doing “El Camino de Santiago”? The answer is very complex. Suffice it to say that I experienced a series of coincidences (a coincidence is only a coincidence if you want it to be, if you don’t want it to be it won’t be) and synchronicities that led me directly to Spain. Some of you have heard me share an example of what a coincidence (or not one) might look like. Suppose one morning you are rushing around the house late for work and you quickly open a closet to retrieve your jacket and tumbling off the top closet shelf comes an umbrella that hits you directly in the head. Annoyed you grab it from the floor and toss it into the corner and head out the door. Five minutes into your 20- minute drive the sky darkens and a major rainstorm erupts to the point that you can’t even see out of your windshield. At this point several things could cross your mind…. You might simply think to yourself “I should have brought my umbrella” not even remembering it had hit you directly in the head right before leaving home! Or you might think “Oh man I threw the umbrella in the corner and I should have brought it” remembering you saw the umbrella but omitting the fact that it actually hit you in the head. Finally, you might think, “Wait a minute, the umbrella hit me directly in the head this morning, was someone or something trying to tell me something”
I am a natural born skeptic; probably should have been born in Missouri the “Show Me” State. But I want all of you to know that at least for me I have been persuaded, prompted and seemingly slapped directly in the face with evidence that we are frequently being communicated with by whatever you personally chose to call it; God, The Divine, The Universe, Angels, or the Still Small Voice, but we fail to hear or recognize the messages. We are just in too big of a hurry. We don’t hear or see things that are truly put in our path to help us, warn us, guide us and protect us. I am trying harder to listen.
History
The Way of St. James (El Camino de Santiago) is an ancient pilgrimage route that runs across northern Spain beginning in the French Pyrenes and ending at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried. This pilgrimage has existed for over 1000 years.
The pilgrimage to Santiago has never ceased from the time of the discovery of St. James remains, though there have been years of fewer pilgrims, particularly during European wars.
During the war of American Independence, John Adams was ordered by Congress to go to Paris to obtain funds for the cause. His ship started leaking and he disembarked with his two sons in Finisterre in 1779. From there he proceeded to follow the Way of St. James in the reverse direction of the pilgrims’ route, in order to get to Paris overland. He did not stop to visit Santiago and came to regret this during the course of his journey. In his autobiography, he gave an accurate description of the customs and lodgings afforded to St. James pilgrims in the 18th century and mentioned the legend as it was then told to travelers. Adams said…
“I have always regretted that We could not find time to make a Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella. We were informed, ... that the Original of this Shrine and Temple of St. Iago was this. A certain Shepherd saw a bright Light there in the night. Afterwards it was revealed to an Archbishop that St. James was buried there. This laid the Foundation of a Church, and they have built an Altar on the Spot where the Shepherd saw the Light. In the time of the Moors, the People made a Vow, that if the Moors should be driven from this Country, they would give a certain portion of the Income of their Lands to Saint James. The Moors were defeated and expelled and it was reported and believed, that Saint James was in the Battle and fought with a drawn Sword at the head of the Spanish Troops, on Horseback. The People, believing that they owed the Victory to the Saint, very cheerfully fulfilled their Vows by paying the Tribute. ...Upon the Supposition that this is the place of the Sepulcher of Saint James, there are great numbers of Pilgrims, who visit it, every Year, from France, Spain, Italy and other parts of Europe, many of them on foot.”
Yellow Arrows
There is something about slowing down that accelerates our learning. I know that doesn’t sound quite right, but it’s true. Walking the Camino definitely slows life down and causes you to pull inside to explore the good, bad and the ugly that exists in all of us.
Along “The Way” one encounters up-hills, downhills, wind, rain, cold weather, hot weather, doubt, and elation. All great metaphors for everyday life.
From the pictures I shared with you from my trip you will recall that the Camino is marked with two very recognizable symbols that guide pilgrims from the French Pyrenees to the Cathedral in Santiago; the scallop shell and yellow arrows. Just as an aside after a few days of following the yellow arrows I found myself humming to myself…. Follow the yellow brick road, follow the yellow brick road.
The scallop shell, often found on the shores in Galicia, has long been the symbol of the Camino de Santiago. Over the centuries the scallop shell has taken on mythical, metaphorical and practical meanings, even if its relevance may actually derive from the desire of pilgrims to take home a souvenir.
Two versions of the most common myth about the origin of the symbol concern the death of Saint James, who was killed in Jerusalem for his convictions about his brother, John. James had spent some time preaching on the Iberian Peninsula.
Version 1: After James' death, his disciples shipped his body to the Iberian Peninsula to be buried in what is now Santiago. Off the coast of Spain, a heavy storm hit the ship, and the body was lost to the ocean. After some time, however, the body washed ashore undamaged, covered in scallops.
Version 2: After James' death his body was mysteriously transported by a ship with no crew back to the Iberian Peninsula to be buried in what is now Santiago. As James' ship approached land, a wedding was taking place on the shore. The young groom was on horseback, and on seeing the ship approaching, his horse got spooked, and the horse and rider plunged into the sea. Through miraculous intervention, the horse and rider emerged from the water alive, covered in seashells.
The scallop shell also acts as a metaphor. The grooves in the shell, which come together at a single point, represent the various routes pilgrims traveled, eventually arriving at a single destination: the tomb of James in Santiago de Compostela. The shell is also a metaphor for the pilgrim. As the waves of the ocean wash scallop shells up on the shores of Galicia, God's hand also guided the pilgrims to Santiago.
The yellow arrows are really what I want to focus on……
I have no historical tale about how they came into being but they are integral now to the pilgrim’s journey. They are ubiquitous. Spray painted on rocks, scrawled on sign posts, written on walls and fences. Oh, that we had something like this as part of our everyday life. Or maybe we do….
As our journey began in the Pyrenees we were told all we had to do was follow the yellow arrows. That was as we came to learn a bit understated. All that was missing from that statement was the previously mentioned up-hills, downhills, twists, turns, wind, rain, mud, rocks, doubts, hunger etc. But as you read this I am sure you can see the parallels to our everyday lives. Yet every morning we all get up and keep walking.
As we began our journey we quickly picked up the trail of yellow arrows and I must admit it was comforting to see them as they appeared in both obvious and not so obvious places (hold that thought we will come back to it). Much like our real lives we entered the Camino not really knowing all that was ahead of us but having a destination in mind; Santiago. As the journey unfurled the unexpected often occurred which caused us to either adapt or be sidelined for a while until we regrouped and resumed the trek. Again, how often does that happen to us in real life? My guess is frequently to all of us and one of the differences often in succeeding in life vs not is adapting to what the journey brings. Much easier said than done but critical in my estimation.
Within a few days a strange relationship begins to develop with the yellow arrows. They become a beacon, a constant comforter, and most critically confirmation that one is on the right path. As the days begin to roll one into another it seems at times there are ill-timed gaps between the yellow arrows at moments when you really want to see one the most. This in turn causes doubt, panic, hesitation and confusion. It was an interesting phenomenon to experience and observe. Again, pause here and ask yourself if this has happened to you in real life? Have you ever been waltzing through life then suddenly what was working so well for so long for you stops working? It creates all of the feelings listed; doubt, panic, hesitation and confusion. These are the moments I believe we really come to know ourselves and are forced to turn inside and use the “Divine” within…. Some call it intuition, others the still small voice.
There were lots of moments like this on the “Way” As many of you know I pride myself on being in good physical condition. However, within one day on the trail my conditioning didn’t matter; blisters were now running the show! I must admit that this caught me by surprise because I had broken my boots in prior to going on the trip and didn’t ever think one day out I could have this problem; I did. So began the testing of the philosophy of regroup, adapt and mentally shift gears from powering through the 300 kilometer walk to “do what I could” and hope my feet recovered. For three days I carried on a conversation in my mind ranging from how the *%#@ did I get these blisters to it can’t hurt any more than it currently does so suck it up and keep moving forward. Included in these three days of doubt, confusion and panic was a 5000-foot climb and the descent down the other side; lovely. But something special happened on the way to the Coliseum… so to speak. We met James and Angie from Texas. James is a retired Superintendent of Schools and he also served in Vietnam as a Medic. He had me remove my boots to inspect my feet. What he exclaimed I will refrain from putting in print here but let’s just say he was surprised I was able to walk at all. He did a quick fix for me and said when we got into the next town he would go with me to the Pharmacy and help me get what I needed to treat my feet. Needless to say, James and Angie appeared at the right time and the right place; coincidence? I think not. James and Angie thank you! One of the big lessons from the Camino for me was that help often comes from unexpected places and at unexpected times. The key; be open, be receptive, and observant.
So let’s go back to the arrows…. I mentioned that they would be constant for a while then suddenly there would be a gap that made things uncomfortable at a minimum and at the extreme could generate feelings of panic depending on where the gap fell. We experienced both. It was in these moments that we were forced to rely on our experience, our intuition and sometimes the foresight or inspiration of someone who had gone before us leaving what could be best characterized as an “in-between arrow”. These would seemingly miraculously appear in the form of someone forming an arrow out of stones in the middle of the path pointing the way or a bunch of sticks hastily thrown together into an arrow. These “in-between” arrows often gave us pause; should we believe them or was someone messing with us. One might call it a leap of faith. Thankfully they always worked! Do you see the parallels to daily life? I believe we all experience periods where the arrows just keep coming at us pointing the way then one morning you awake and the arrows disappear. Its part of our growth, it’s what makes us grow wiser.
At the end of the journey in Santiago there is definitely a feeling of accomplishment and spiritual enlightenment. Odds are that most everyone who makes it there has experienced a myriad of emotions and trials. There were days of fatigue, doubt, oneness with nature, sore feet, moments of deep reverence, laughter, reflection; these are but a few of the treasures encountered on this ancient journey.
In conclusion, I wish to finish with a little humor. As pilgrims shuffle into Santiago and find their way to the Cathedral a surprising yet not surprising fact emerges; in the end we all stink! That’s right we stink. And that if you think about it is metaphoric too. In fact, the reason they swing that big Botofumiero during the Pilgrims Mass is because over the 1000 years that pilgrims have arrived there the constant has been “stink”. So, the Botofumiero was initiated to cover the smell and make the Mass more pleasant for all. Honestly, that is really true.
Now for a brief spiritual note…
I have been curious about Jesus most of my life. I have grappled with all of the wherefores and the why's, incessantly wanting to get to the core of it. I have always been disturbed by how little we really know and how it came to us. We really only know in any detail about 3 years of Jesus life the rest being sketchy at best. But I must admit his life is undeniable. He lived. His gift to us in my eyes is a mastery of Love. Agape the Greeks call it. The pure love of Christ. This is what we must strive for. This is what will save humanity. As I walked the trail known as “The Way”, the hundreds if not thousands of representations of Jesus struck me. One night in an Albergue I randomly opened up a Bible I have saved on my iTouch and it opened to a verse in Luke. I leave you with this scripture and wish all of you a Buen Camino.
20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within.
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