El Camino de Elena

Thought I'd come back to post before y'all think I died

So that little incident I had in the prior post was just

Firing Synapses

It's like living alone in a dark quiet cave on the top of a mountain

and walking out one night into the mega-daddy of all firework celebrations

with the world's population singing and dancing

to all the different types of music playing all at once

My brain was like a kid on a sugar high

And since then it's been functioning as close to normal as it could

(unless it's tired-then it's just plain amusing)

~ ~ ~

Some time ago I spoke about my desire to do a pilgrimage in Spain

specifically to walk El Camino de Santiago

For no other reason than to try to find what others have found

To walk in lost and confused and come out strong and confident

To feel kinship with others who take the journey

a camaraderie amongst those who don't speak the same verbal language

but follow a similar yearning in their soul

To face the journey's hardships that test one's physical and mental state

Culminating at the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral

Where one bows in gratitude for the blessings along the way

before returning home to resume a normal life

So when my friend recently pointed me towards a book about El Camino

I didn't feel the same desire

It occurred to me that this past year and a half has been my pilgrimage

(I'll even name it - El Camino de Elena)

I walked in unprepared - armed only with full blown trust

It's been a rough journey but one that has proven my strength and resolve

One that showed me what truly matters and what's just plain fluff

One that introduced me to others along the way making the same journey

One that threatened to tear apart what I've known

only to weave it tighter than before

The only difference is that there is no end of the road Cathedral 

I bow in gratitude as I look to the sky wherever I stand

I don't return home to resume a normal life

because life cannot be normal once touched by the pilgrimage

My eyes see with a deeper understanding

My soul, heart, mind...my physical and mental aspects have intertwined

I am not the same person I was 

And it's all good

~ ~ ~

One of the most iconic symbols of El Camino de Santiago

is the scallop shell (the Pilgrim's Shell)

Shortly before my aneurysm was discovered I was given my

own Pilgrim's Shell at the start of my pilgrimage

(I wrote about it before but I'll share again)

As my son and I walked along the ocean front

I bent over as the waves receded and stuck my fingers deep into the wet sand

and retrieved this

I walked another 8'-10' feeling the waves crash around my ankles

stuck my fingers deep into the sand again and retrieved this

I stopped when I realized that the shapes were similar

that they fit

I smirked and thought 'whoa! angels...you're good'

My Pilgrim's Shell

Love cradled within Wings