Maybe this happens all of the time and I'm just not as aware of it some of the time - the universal dance of synchronicity. It's cool. I've planned for months and months for the trip that is a scant 16 days away as of this writing, and recently I've secretly doubted my commitment, my physical ability, my mental focus.... not as in I'm-not-gonna-do-it; more like whoa - I'm almost there and I'm feeling nervous about what I'll find that is outside of my current comfort zone.
I have spent this past weekend happily running my little jewelry booth with a couple of friends helping me at a large annual festival in Fayetteville, NC. It's a blur of activity: meeting and greeting strangers and old friends alike in a festive environment. Each year I attend this event, I run into people I truly enjoy and after we share a joyous hug and quickly catch up with the bullet points of each others lives since last year's event, we always say something like - why don't we make time to be together more often? This year - yesterday - I ran into two particular women I haven't seen in many years - old friends I'd become estranged from for hazy and at this point in time unimportant reasons - and I felt this beautiful surge of love and happiness. My hands were full of lunch for three from a vendor who had only foil - no bags - and I improvised upon seeing them with necky air-hugs including an air kiss to the cheek since my arms were too employed to use for embracing. It could've been a tense hi-how-have-you-been now I have nothing else to say, or worse - I see you coming and avert my eyes and pretend I never saw you; instead I felt this surge of happiness as soon as I saw them walking in my direction and I understood without a second thought that there are so many 'stories' that we've convinced ourselves are true yet in the end simply don't matter - it's the story of love matters. And - in loving ourselves, we love all and are capable of nearly anything.
Checkmate.
A little later yesterday afternoon I was standing in back of my festival tent - out of view from anyone entering while my friends/helpers ran things, and one of them stuck her head around the back wall and said, "there's a man who wants to meet the artist". So I stepped back in. I introduced myself, and he introduced himself and his lady to me. We talked about my jewelry and he was getting at wanting to contact me for custom work. I said to him that I would be out of the country shortly til mid-July, lest he try and contact me and find me absent :). This led to questions, which led to the Camino de Santiago WHICH THEY HAVE DONE which led me to blurt out a very personal question of a perfect stranger - What were your personal reasons for wanting to walk your pilgrimage? Wait. Do you mind if I ask you a personal question? That was totally backwards. ..... Yes, I'd be happy to tell you why. And he did, adding all of the potential amazing moments I'll have personally, spiritually, and as one sharing the experience with strangers that will become a part of my heart. Looking back, it was as if the Universe conspired to lend it's loving voice to my doubts in such a beautiful, tangible, human and personal way.
Checkmate.
Did I mention I'm leaving in 16 days? <3
Share your love -
Kerstin
I too keep running into people who have walked the Camino. I have a German friend who after several years of friendship I leaned had walked. When I started my blog, he emailed me telling me of his time on the Camino. Last year while visiting him at his home in Germany, we were hiking in the Black Forest and we stopped and talked a couple walking in the opposite direction. They had walked the Camino the previous year. Later on the same visit we were having dinner with my friends sister-in-law and her husband and they will be walking the Camino this year starting on May 17th. The Camino became very popular with Germans after a German comedian wrote a book about his experience. "I'm Off Then: Losing and Finding Myself on the Camino de Santiago" by Hape Kerkeling. (good book by the way)
ReplyDeleteFewer Americans have walked the Camino so your chance meeting is more rare I think. Although after the movie "The Way", that is changing.
So, Kerstin I think once you begin walking and after you complete your first day, your comfort zone will expand and all will be well.
Buen Camino