3 October 2011
It’s hot here on the Camino, with weather in the 80s and a cloudless sky. Today I’ve decided to walk the latter part of the day’s trek and ride out the first part in our “sag wagon.” The walkers are passing us by, laden with gear and sweating profusely. I’m in the shade, sipping a Diet Coke and typing this message.
It’s interesting, how many of the things our group is doing – using technology, sleeping in comfy beds instead of hostels, letting a driver carry our luggage so we can use day packs, fruit and snacks along the way, walking “only” the last 100+ kilometers of the route instead of all 800 – evokes judgment and scorn in the minds of some of our fellow travelers. They say we’re “touregrinos” instead of “peregrinos” (tourists instead of true pilgrims). That’s their crap, not ours. But it did prompt a few thoughts:
How many times do we find ourselves judging others because they don’t walk through life the same way we do? It’s so easy to believe that ours is the right path, but when we drop the judgment and allow both ourselves and others to just be who we are, walking along the path as best we can, there’s peace. I don’t know about you, but I’m all for that.
