0/16/2019, 14:00
Walking in a 30- to 40-mph wind is VERY tiring!! For the last three days we have experienced such winds, coupled with a mostly overcast sky and temperatures in the upper 40s to low 50s. Walking up to 16 miles in a day in those conditions made for a trial of bone-chilling cold but we had tremendous gratitude for the hot shower that awaits us at the end of the day! And restful sleep comes quite easily, even in a room full of snorers (one of whom is me, or so I’ve been told).
This experience was brought to mind as I was praying Morning Prayer this morning:
Give us strength in temptation, endurance in trial, and gratitude in prosperity.
Charlotte (UK) and Fr. Tony.
10/16/2019, 17:00
I’ve heard it said that, on the 500-miles of the Camino Frances, the first-third is physical (you endure fatigue, blisters, sore muscles and many other ailments), the second-third is mental (if you’re fortunate enough to survive the physical trials, you then shift your focus on the mental as you place one foot in front of the other 30,000 to 40,000 times a day), while the final-third is spiritual (letting body and mind free to contemplate the mystery that is God!). As we approach the half way mark in our Camino, the conversation among Charlotte (UK), Fr. Tony and me shifted to that very subject. Today we noted that the “tedium” of that placement of one foot in front of the other frees the mind and opens one’s mind to contemplate the spiritual. I’m sure that, as we get closer to the completion of 1,000,000 steps to Santiago that I’ll have more to say on this topic!
Jim Olshefski