Camino Frances: Day 7

Day 7 of Camino’s supportive weather on a long and winding road through northern Spain. Our suitcases open and close daily in a sequence of rooms linked by an ancestral devotional path.

This morning, once in motion of on Camino, I spot a young couple in their twenties. Perhaps their lives are more stable than what I remember at their age. Probably not. Being newly independent I’m sure they’re quite busy and making progress but I recall an ever-present uncertainty as my core identity. Ungainly philosophic questions held me captive. I found comfort in Elton John’s song "Grey Seal" lyrics ‘Tell me Grey Seal, how does it feel to see through eyes that only see what’s real.’ Fifty years of an engaged life addressed those intangibles.

In preparation for our Camino our group watched two fictional films on pilgrimage transformation and I wondered—will a powerful insight be provided me this month? More appropriately, did I arrive here with the necessary makeup permitting transformation? No. In its place, however, I’ve noted repeated, unscheduled series of God’s winking upon us, brief moments marking shared assistance.

Perhaps you can recall someone who periodically sent you a silent, split-second wink above a broad smile. You sense appreciation and are elevated to acquire more.

Winking as a notion first appeared to me on the Camino when we passed through forested areas. Cresent-shaped leaves will appear in a random profusion, here and there. As a wink is offered, a single leaf departs a branch above and marks the spot two pilgrims exchanged God’s Love.

– Peter Feibelman