Tomorrow morning, I will get up, load my pack, and walk for 20+km over the Pyrenees. If I drove, Google tells me I could get there in 30 minutes.

Instead, these are taking me:

Why am I doing this? As I lie awake tonight, others snoring & roosters crowing (waking up my new Irish friend Frank enough to mutter “Shut up ya bastard, for fooks sake…” swear some more, & then doze off again…) I laugh a bit as I ask myself that again.

There are many reasons, but as best I can tell, it is primarily to step out of my daily ordinary life in order to hear God better & to love God more, so that I may continue to do so more fully in my life back home.

There is the adventure piece – to simplify – the camino as a metaphor for life – a chance to unplug from distractions – an opportunity to practice living w/ freedom & lightness – freedom for God & for others – a chance to be a blessing & a witness – discernment in my life – space to laugh, have fun, & receive life… All secondary however.

My hope & prayer is that this pilgrimage – instead of simply being a long walk, or a journey to some sacred place – will be a sacred time, that helps imbue my days & my steps with an awareness of all that is holy around me, & the presence & work of the Spirit (& then somehow carry that home at the end-but that’s a problem for the future…) today I just need to keep putting one foot in front of the other as I walk over these today…

Buen camino…